A Reason to Celebrate

After dropping the first game, the Red Oak Tigers won three straight to win a spot in the 3A region 3 final against Carroll, which will take place in Harlan tonight.

The Tigers defeated the Atlantic Trojanns in the semifinals, 3-1 in Glenwood. Atlantic took the first game, 25-14. The Tigers kept it close early, tying it at 5-5, but Atlantic pulled away towards the middle of the game.
“We knew we were making too many unforced errors,” Tigers Head Coach Angie Montgomery said. “Our hitters weren’t taking smart swings. We were hitting to kill the ball, rather than being smart and going to our gameplan and knowing where the open spots were.”
The Tigers had only seven kills in the first game, with senior outside hitter Gabi French leading the way with three. French eventually finished the night with 16 kills, leading the Tigers.
The Tigers jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the second game beforethe first timeout. Atlantic closed the gap to 10-9, but the Tigers held the lead and won the second game 25-18 on a block by Emily Pierson and Adrienne Mahoney.
In the always crucial third game, the Trojanns jumped out to a 5-1 lead, but Red Oak clawed their way back into the third game, narrowing Atlantic’s lead to 12-11. After two serving aces by Pierson, Red Oak led for the first time in the game.
However, the lead didn’t last long as both teams tied repeatedly, until Atlantic took a 19-18 lead followed by a Tigers timeout.
Following the timeout, Red Oak tied the score again before pulling away with a 24-21 lead. The Trojanns put up one more point, but it wasn’t enough as the Tigers won the third game, 25-22.
“It’s tough. I had the most confidence in them. I’ve got an experienced group out there, I’ve got an experienced staff on the bench that are helping me make the calls,” Montgomery said.
The fourth game started with the Trojanns once again jumping out to an early lead. However, the Tigers stayed in the game and eventually took the lead at 9-8.
From there, the Tigers went on an 8-2 run to give them the lead at 17-10.
The Trojanns kept close though, eventually getting to within two points of the Tigers. Atlantic managed only one point after their run. The Tigers clinched the match on a block by Pierson again, giving her two total for the night.
The Tigers had lost both meetings to Atlantic earlier this season. Montgomery said it felt good to knock off the Trojanns.
“We knew coming off that we had not shown them nearly our best team. We couldn’t have asked for more tonight,” she said.
Red Oak had 12 serving aces for the night, seven more than Atlantic had for the match. French, Kristine Boatman and Brittany Walker had a combined nine of the 12 aces for the Tigers.
The Tigers also had 10 blocks for the match, with Mahoney leading the way with four of those blocks (two solo).
The Tigers will face Carroll in the Regional Final, which will be held in Harlan now instead of Atlantic.
Montgomery said it feels good to advance to the Regional final.
“I’ve got a very experienced team. Several of them had been down to the state tournament before. They’re going to want this,” she said.
Carroll knocked out Perry, 3-1, to make their way to the final. Carroll won 25-12, 21-25, 25-18 and 25-11. The Tigers are 29-7 for the season.
Montgomery said they have to focus on where they want to be at the end of the game.
“If we can pass like that and our hitters are smart, we know we stick to our game plan, we’ll be fine,” she said.