ALMA - Shiloh Christian Coach Shyrah Schisler told Reagan Robinson the ball was coming to her during a timeout late in the fifth set of the Lady Saints’ match against Greene County Tech on Tuesday.
The sophomore outside hitter didn’t shy away from the pressure.
“I was just going to hit it as hard as I could,” Robinson said. “I just wanted a win.”
Robinson closed the match with authoritative kills for the final two points as top-seeded Shiloh Christian rallied for a five-set victory and defeated Greene County Tech 3-2 (25-10, 11-25, 25-21, 17-25, 16-14) in the first round of the Class 5A volleyball state tournament.
Robinson finished with a career-high 26 kills to help lead the Lady Saints (25-6-1) past Greene County Tech, the No. 4 seed from the East that eliminated Shiloh Christian in the second round of the state tournament last year.
“All my sophomores were a little nervous there,” Schisler said. “We talked about that being nervous was going to have to pass. We told her we were giving her the ball, and she wanted it. She was aggressive.”
The Lady Saints came back after losing Game 4 and trailing 10-7 in the deciding fifth set. Schisler called timeout with her team facing an 8-6 deficit in Game 5, a position Shiloh Christian wasn’t accustomed to being in after losing just one set in an undefeated 5A-West Conference title run.
“I just said, ‘Hey, we don’t have a losing attitude, we have a winning attitude. Play hard.We’ve prepared ourselves all year,’ ” Schisler said. “When Celestene [Sebag] went back to serve, we said, ‘This is what you live for.’ She’s a great server. She took it and did a great job.”
Shiloh Christian tied the game at 12 and took the lead for good on a block by seniors Brittany Butler and Lauren Brown.
“That block by Brittany and Lauren changed our tone,” Schisler said. “We were playing from behind the whole time, and once we got that block, our energy just shifted.”
Butler also finished with five unassisted blocks. Brown had 44 assists.
Shiloh Christian looked like it was set to cruise to the victory after a 25-10 victory in Game 1, but Greene County Tech responded by winning the second game 25-11 to knot the match.
Shiloh scored the final three points of the 25-21 victory in the third game, but Greene County Tech fought back and broke open a 17-17 tie for a 25-17 victory in the fourth set to tie the match.
Juniors Chandler Browning and Josie Fletcher each had a team-high 16 kills for the Lady Eagles.
Shiloh Christian advanced to today’s quarterfinals, where it will face Little Rock Christian at 4 p.m. Little Rock Christian defeated Camden Fairview 3-0 (25-12, 25-13, 26-24) in the first round Tuesday.
“They’re a very solid team,” Schisler said. “They have tradition. We’re still young and building tradition. That is something that’s really key for us is just overcoming that second round, persevering forward and just playing our kind of volleyball.”
Sports, Pages 22 on 10/30/2013