By Thomas Sellers Jr.
The energy in the William Osteen Gymnasium was tense in the final moments of the Ripley vs. Millington volleyball match.
The Lady Tigers rallied after dropping the first two sets to Millington to force a fifth and decisive set. The home fans were dejected as Ripley nursed a 14-13 lead in the final frame. One point away from losing, the Lady Trojans received a timely play from sophomore Aleeah “The Waitress” Fiene. Her running over-the-head volley flew over the net and darted to the ground to deadlock the decisive set at 14-14. Then it was time for junior Janie Smith to close out the match. After her kill gave Millington the 15-14 advantage, it was Smith executing another attack at the net that connected on the over side of the barrier in front of the Lady Tigers giving Millington the 16-14 win.
The Lady Trojans were victorious in the first two sets 25-22 and 25-6. In the second set Fiene was called the waitress by some in attendance because of how well she was serving. Fiene was the standout serving the Lady Trojans to an 11-0 lead. The Lady Tigers could not recover and suffered a 19-point defeat.
Ripley regrouped in the third and fourth sets winning 25-22 and 25-15 respectively.
The final set was a seesaw affair with Ripley taking a 2-0 lead. Millington bounced back to go ahead 7-3. Then the Lady Tigers had one more surge to go ahead 14-13. That set the table for the heroics of Fiene and Smith.
The Lady Trojans’ victory was their fourth in a row and kept Millington in second place in the district.
Aleeah Fiene-32 assists, 29 kills, 7 aces, 6 digs
Janie Smith-28 kills, 27 digs, 6 aces, 4 assists
Kiara Lopez-38 digs, 12 assists, 5 kills, 3 assists
Anna Speight-18 assists, 10 digs, 8 kills, 2 aces
Shelby Pindell-14 kills, 10 digs, 5 blocks, 4 aces
Meagan Harding-5 blocks, 3 kills, 2 digs
Mariah Townsel-6 digs, 3 kills
Breanna Hulsey 10 digs, 5 kills
Kyndall Lee-1 kill and 1 dig
