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Lady Panthers place 2nd in Canton

The Starr’s Mill Lady Panthers volleyball team captured a second place finish out of 40 teams at the prestigious Sequoyah Classic Invitational Tournament held this past Saturday in Canton.

After a slow start, Starr’s Mill played some incredible volleyball and set a record for the program's highest finish ever in the tournament.“It was exciting watching the girls begin to put into place two goals that they set for this season: playing with confidence and enjoying intense competition,” said head coach Dottie Licciardi. “This is a very focused, determined group of athletes who put forth their best efforts during the practice sessions, and some of the skills and strategies that we have been working on emerged today at the tournament,” she added.

Beginning their pool play at Woodstock High School, Starr’s Mill dropped their first match against Decatur High School, losing 22-25 and 10-25. The Lady Panthers seemed to come alive with better hitting and serving against their second opponent, Wheeler High School, and came away with an easy win, 25-10; 25-12.

In their third match of the day, the Lady Panthers were running more like a well-tuned engine with quicker reaction times and effective court communication. Facing off against a solid Roswell team they posted another win, 25-17 and 25-23.Inspired by their dynamic senior players and supported by athletic junior players, the Lady Panthers never looked back, winning their last pool play match against Dalton 25-15; 25-15 and setting their sights on the playoffs.In the first round of playoffs, Starr’s Mill faced perennial power Athens Academy. In a match totally dominated by Starr’s Mill, the Lady Panthers eliminated their competition, 25-15; 25-14.

Next, Starr’s Mill again faced Decatur, their only loss so far that day. This time around, however, the Lady Panthers were not caught flat-footed. Solid serve receive, effective serving, on-target passing, and smart setting knocked Decatur out with a decisive two game sweep 25-20; 25-17, moving Starr’s Mill along to the next round of the single elimination playoffs.Traveling to Sequoyah High School for the final matches of the day, the Lady Panther’s first opponent was Ringgold High School. Starr’s Mill ran up a quick lead against the Lady Tigers with timely tips and crafty setting, winning the first game 25-15. In game two against Ringgold, Starr’s Mill came from behind to reclaim their court dominance with excellent serving and hitting to take the second game 25-16, and claim a berth in the finals.

In the tournament finals match, Starr’s Mill squared off against powerhouse Wesleyan High School. The first game saw the two teams traded points as each tried to find their opponent’s weaknesses. Both teams played well, yet neither dominated. Down 22-23, the Lady Panthers battled back by scoring the last three points to win 25-23. In game two, the two teams again stayed close in points. Strong hits by Starr’s Mill’s outside and middle positions were launched from superb setting, yet it wasn’t enough to overcome Wesleyan’s strong front line and the Lady Panthers dropped the game, 18-25. In the decisive third game of the championship match, the evenly matched teams once again traded points throughout the game.

Tied at 25-25, the teams battled on into overtime. Wesleyan’s superior height rallied their team to win the last two tough points at the net, besting the battling Starr’s Mill team, 25-27, for the championship.“We still have a lot to work on and accomplish, especially in the areas of passing and floor defense,” said Licciardi. “However, we are focused on taking one point, one game, one match at a time.”Leading the team in kills for the tournament was senior outside hitter Kursten Carr with 39, junior right side hitter Aubry Ireland with 27, and senior middle hitter Shelley MacBean with 20 kills. Carr also led the team in digs with 39, Ireland tallied 37, and senior setter Niki Patriarca contributed a total of 35 digs. MacBean led the Lady Panthers in blocks with 8 for the day. Senior middle hitter Alex Hayes added 6.5 blocks to the stats, while Carr tallied 2.5 blocks. Junior outside hitter Kelley Elder fired off 16 service aces against the competition.MacBean added 9 aces to the books, with Ireland contributing 6 aces as well. Patriarca anchored the day’s efforts with a total of 93 assists.