Camden Volleyball finishes Week 7 with four wins

Camden Volleyball went 4-0 in the last week of its regular season with four straight home matches. With a sixth straight district championship on the line, the team is gearing up to dominate in post-season games.
Camden started its week versus division II powerhouse USJ. The team won two straight with scores of 25-13, 25-20. Noted Coach Stephen Vick, “The ball was spread so evenly in this match, there were no single performances that stood out for Camden in this contest, and that’s not a bad thing. Every single athlete played well.”
Playing in a tri-match that same night, Camden dropped the only set of the week to Milan, but eventually won the match two sets to one.  Kinsley Peach finished with 10 kills, Lydia Dykes made 6 blocks, and Jaycie Robinson offered up 13 digs.
In a district matchup against Cheatham County, Camden never let them score more than 14 points on the evening. It was barely a contest. Dykes paced the team with 12 kills, while Karlie Davis led the defense with 17 digs.
To finish the week, in a repeat of last year’s district championship, Fairview came to Camden to face a completely different team. Fairview was met with a loss, with Camden only allowing 12 points on the board for Fairview in any given game. Camden brought in the win 3-0, with set scores of 25-12, 25-10, 25-11.  
“We understand that Fairview can and has made waves in the district finals in the past, and we wanted to make sure we let them know who we are,” Vick said. “It was great to see our girls rise to that occasion and peak here at the right time, with district championships coming up next week.”
Camden played for its sixth straight district title on Tuesday, Oct. 6. If Camden is victorious, it will host the region match at home on Tuesday, Oct. 13.
Junior Varsity
The Camden JV traveled to Fairview over the weekend to compete in the JV District Tournament. They entered Saturday as the top seed after completing the regular season 11-1. By the end of the day, their record stood at 14-2, and they emerged in second place.
The first match in pool play had the JV facing Fairview for the second time in three days. Camden topped them on Thursday night, but with Fairview on their home court, they provided a little more resistance. Camden won anyway, scoring 25-22, 25-21. Camryn Burke tied her JV record of 19 digs in a match and Anne Caroline Johnson brought down 12 kills.
Next up was Sycamore, who Camden dispatched 25-13, 25-2. Audrey Jackson supplied 9 aces for the match and helped open up a 23-0 lead in the second set while at the service line. Johnson bagged 14 kills, besting the JV record for kills in a match. L.B. Richardson tied the digs record with 19 of her own.
A second match of the day with Fairview was lined up for the semifinals, with Camden defeating Fairview, 25-15, 25-17. Faith Wallace led the team at the service line with 5 aces and hit .333 from the right side, adding 3 kills. Taylor Faulkner served 4 aces. Haley McKinney had 3 kills, a block, and hit .429 from the middle. Brilee Weatherly had 13 digs, 9 assists, 3 kills, and 2 aces in the match.
Camden entered the championship match against Creek Wood, who Camden had met and bested the previous three years. During the regular season, the teams split with each team earning a win. In the championship match, Jackson led Camden with 10 aces followed by Faulkner with 8. McKinney had 2 blocks, Weatherly put up 50 assists, and Burke had 53 digs and a 1.93 serve receive average. Johnson finished her day with 33 kills.
Unfortunately, Creek Wood won their first JV District Tournament Championship 2-0, leaving the Camden JV season with a final record of 14-2. Given that the JV went to battle this fall with one sophomore and seven freshmen, it was a finish the young team could accept with pride.
“If you had told me at the beginning of the year that we would go 14-2, with the COVID-19 situation, playing with a young, undersized team, I would have gladly said yes to that record. Even so, I’m never satisfied with losing for any reason, because I want the best there is for my hard working athletes,” reflected JV Coach Ross Steelman. “In this final loss, we were just outplayed from beginning to end, but I’m very proud of this team. They fought hard each and every time they took the court, showing heart and determination. Because of that, they will always be one of my favorite teams.”