Camden Volleyball moved to a season record of 33-3 last Tuesday night after going an entire season never losing a district match. This season’s performance qualifies for the second most wins in program history, and propelled the team to its sixth straight District Championship. Said Coach Stephen Vick, “With Tuesday night’s win, the six-peat is complete!”
The night started off strong as Camden rolled through fourth ranked Sycamore in three straight sets to close the first semifinal match. Kinsley Peach paced all hitters with 12 kills in the opening match, followed by Lydia Dykes with 8. Karlie Davis served up 8 aces and 17 digs, passing a team high of 2.40 percent. Team leader Alix Hampton put up 16 assists in the contest.
“We wanted to set the tone early tonight,” said Vick. “We wanted to win quickly in three so that we had the best opportunity for a break and more time to prepare for the championship match.”
Creek Wood, the second best team in the league, squared off versus 3-seed Fairview in the second semifinal match. The game extended to a fourth set as Fairview rallied back against Creek Wood for a win in the third to keep their season alive. Creek Wood wasn’t having it, finishing them off decisively in the fourth set to take the match.
Camden entered into the championship final match with a chip on their shoulder, given that their first two meetings with Creek Wood this year had been decided in the fifth set by only 2 points. “We knew Creek Wood had the ability to play on the level with us if we did not give a peak performance,” Vick said. “I believe the team prepared mentally for this match as much as they prepared fundamentally.”
Camden did not allow the championship game to extend to a tiebreak, instead controlling much of the contest and putting Creek Wood away in the fourth set. Peach again snagged the team high with 15 kills, followed by Dykes 13 kills and 7 solo blocks. Hampton and Taylor Hopkins were poised and consistent, putting up hittable balls all night with 21 and 18 assists, respectively. Davis put up her third best performance of the year with 39 digs in the match.
“It’s a blessing to be this team’s coach. The culture of this group is unprecedented, and makes every moment with them enjoyable,” Vick noted. “This might be our sixth District title in a row, but each championship brings something special to this program. I love my team.”
Vick’s love of coaching shows, and earned him the title of District Coach of the Year for 2020. District honors went to Dykes as well, who was selected as District MVP for her consistently amazing performance. Rounding out the district group for Camden were Hampton, Davis, and Emmalee Stockdale, all named as players to the district roster. Several players pulled All-Tournament honors as well, with Dykes scoring another MVP award, and Peach, Hopkins, and Trinity Woodard each being named to the All-Tournament Team.
Camden hosted the Region Championship Tournament at the CHS gym on Tuesday, Oct. 13, facing Macon in the first semifinal contest of the night. Creek Wood battled Portland in the second semifinal match. The winners of the semifinal games moved up to the final match for the Region Championship. Get full details of these games in next week’s Chronicle.
