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.