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South Range dominates Campbell
By Brandon Judeh
Salem
It was another lights out performance for the South Range volleyball team as the top seed in the Salem Division III tournament cruised to a 3-0 win over Campbell Memorial.
Easy victories may be nothing new for the Raiders (20-2), but head coach Rachell Storm-Baker says her team isn’t taking anyone lightly during the postseason.
“It doesn’t matter who is on the other side of the court, we work hard and play our game,” said Storm-Baker. “I don’t care who’s on the other side of the net. I only care about what our side looks like because that’s how I judge our team and judge how we are playing.”
The Raiders have enjoyed much success this season thanks to being a focused group that is fundamentally sound and constantly working hard to improve.
“It’s not hard for us to keep focused because we always take things one game at a time and play our game,” said Stevie Taylor.
Coming into the 2013 season South Range had many goals, especially after winning the Division III district title last season.
“It’s been a long time for South Range since we have won league, so coming into this year winning the ITCL was our first goal and we accomplished that,” said Jordan Youngs. “Our second goal is to capture our second straight district title and move on to regionals where we have unfinished business since we lost in the semifinals.
“When we made it to regionals last year it was a new, different experience for everyone on the team, so we want to get back there and get that second chance,” added Youngs.
South Range moved one step closer to that goal, as they had no problem with the Red Devils, easily defeating them 25-6, 25-5 and 25-2.
“Tonight was really about warming up to this court and warming up to this gym. Our team came out very strong and very intense and I’m happy with how hard we are working and how well we are communicating out on the court,” Storm-Baker said.
Leading the way for the Raiders was Taylor with eight kills and 23 points, Lexi DeSantis added 12 kills and three blocks while Madison Juillerat chipped in with nine points and 21 assists.
Next up for the Raiders is Girard on Thursday evening. The Indians are another team not expected to be where they are with nothing to lose.
“We are just as motivated for the Girard game as we were for this game and every other game we have played this season,” Storm-Baker said. “Our kids have worked so hard throughout the season and they really want to keep winning and moving on, Girard is a strong team though so we need to bring our game.”