Late run made CHS volleyball memorable

The 2007 season will go down as a successful one for Chiefland High volleyball.

The Lady Indians' second-place finish in districts and spirit and fight in the regional quarterfinal will be remembered by not only coach Emily Gore and the seven seniors on the squad, but hopefully will rub off on the returning players, who will be the leaders in 2008.

Chiefland played its best volleyball at the end of the season. The Lady Indians lost twice to Dixie County in the regular season, but they came back to defeat the Lady Bears in the Class 3A District 5 Tournament semifinals. They did it in memorable fashion, too, rallying from a 2-1 deficit to win in five games.

Although the Lady Indians were overwhelmed by perennial state power P.K. Yonge in the district final, they regrouped and played their hearts out in their regional opener at Pierson-Taylor. Chiefland lost in three straight, but games two and three were by 26-24 scores.

Chiefland finished with a final record of 11-12, but three of those losses were in short, three-game sets at the Bell Tournament.

The seven seniors will be sorely missed. They included Amye Grieves, Cassie Labat, Brittany Arrington, Shellie Fisher, Lauren Sutton, Jerrica Grimsley and Brittany Kruser.

Juniors Shelbie Hastings, Jessica Steed, Brittany Davis and Kayla Braswell all made significant contributions and will be cornerstones next year. The junior varsity posted a promising record of 8-6. Possible players who could bounce up to varsity include Krysten Johnson, Kaylee Ecker, Charissa Morris, Hayley Miller, Madison Rutkowski, Kaylin Hastings, Danielle Kearns and Renashia Bowers.

Kills: Amye Grieves 132, Cassie Labat, 72, Lauren Sutton, 70.

Service points: Cassie Labat 169, Amye Grieves 154, Brittany Arrington 150.

Aces: Amye Grieves 31, Cassie Labat 27, Brittany Arrington 26.

Assists: Cassie Labat 242.

Blocks: Jerrica Grimsley 40, Amye Grieves 35.

Digs: Shellie Fisher 70, Cassie Labat 60.

Serving Accuracy: Cassie Labat 16 missed serves, Amye Grieves 16 missed serves, Brittany Arrington 23 missed serves.