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Union drops final
October 19, 2009
Union players hug after losing in the Class 6A state volleyball championship on Saturday. Union dropped a 25-12, 18-25, 19-25, 25-20, 18-16 decision to Edmond Memorial. BRAD BRUGGER/For the Tulsa World
by: MIKE MOGUIN Tulsa World Correspondent
(Reprinted with Permission. This is not an endorsement.)
SAPULPA — Union put on an outstanding performance against Edmond Memorial in a bid for the Class 6A state volleyball championship.
But Edmond Memorial prevailed to win a wild match 25-12, 18-25, 19-25, 25-20, 18-16 Saturday at the Chieftain Center.
Union won two of the first three games in the best-of-five match and had a chance to wrap it up in the fourth game. It was up by three points throughout most of the game, but the Bulldogs used a 9-3 run to win 25-20.
That tied the match at 2-2 to force a decisive fifth game — in which the winner must score 15 points and win by two.
Union was down 14-11, but bounced back with the next three points to tie it. Both teams exchanged points before the Bulldogs got the last two on an out of bounds pass and a kill from Caitlin Scott, giving her team the game and the state championship.
"Edmond Memorial is a great team. They have some great players," Union coach Chadd McKee said. "I thought we played really hard. We have some great players on our team, and it was exactly what we thought it would be. It went down the wire, and in the end, they made a couple of plays.
"I couldn't be more proud of my girls. They were down 14-11 in game five. They could have folded, but they came back to tie it at 16-16. I couldn't be more proud of the way they played."
Edmond Memorial opened up a big lead in the first game, before cruising to a 25-12 win.
The Redskins came back in the second game with a 25-18 win.
"We really gave it our all," senior Laura Taylor said. "I think we put up everything on the court. I wish we had it our way, but we gave it our all."
Union moved out in front 20-15 on the account of kills from juniors Paige Brown, Melissa Agnew, sophomore Kylie Johnson and Taylor, as well as Memorial players inadvertently swatting the ball into the net, or committing violations.
"Our word was 'next,' " Taylor said. "We just thought of the next point. We didn't think of the past. We just pushed on."
Union (29-6) continued with its momentum in the third set as it fired out to an 11-0 lead.
But the Bulldogs stormed back with a 15-5 run to draw within 20-17. The Redskins regained their rhythm and went on to win 25-19.
Edmond Memorial (33-5) won its second state volleyball championship in three years and fifth overall.
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