VOLLEYBALL: Tennessee Avenue Christian Academy Makes Debut On Thursday

BRISTOL, Tenn. - When Emily Fox reached low for a dig and popped the ball back over the net, the small – and boisterous – crowd at Tennessee Avenue Christian Academy erupted into cheers.

Fox turned to her teammates and smiled. She’ll go down in history as scoring the first point in TACA’s inaugural season of volleyball.

And, after getting blown out 25-9 in Game 1 against Providence’s JV squad, the Lady Crusaders made a match of it, falling in straight games, all the while tightening up the score at 25-23, 25-19.

Despite the loss, there were no frowns after the match. Only smiles, high fives and sighs of relief.

“Finally,” said Victoria Cox, “we played our first game.”

Actually, it’s a match. But none of these girls, according to coach Michele Steadman, have played volleyball before.

So any slight of tongue she can forgive as easily as a momentary lapse of communication – something she saw enough of during the first game, as the Lady Crusaders all looked at each other as three playable balls fell to the floor.

“But that’s everybody,” Steadman said. “It happens. They got better at it as the game went on.”

The fourth, and final, period of school at the 160-student K-11 academy was anything but ordinary for the nine girls that make up the varsity team.

Cox and fellow Crusader Hannah Harkleroad said concentrating on anything other than bumps, sets and spikes was an exercise in futility. The nervous energy, they said, mixed with the anticipation to form an infectious soup that wasn’t emptied until Samantha Blevins’ match-opening serve (it sailed wide) took to the air.

“Nervous? I was really, really nervous,” Cox said. “Just thinking about what if I do something wrong? What am I going to do? What if we win? What if we lose?”

She was nervous about everything, she said before repeating the chorus. “Everything.”

After watching the Knights jump out to a 10-1 lead in Game 1, the second game started out much better.

The Crusaders snagged an early 4-2 lead – all off Providence errors – before a Christina McKinney ace pulled the Knights even at five. Another unforced error swung the lead back to TACA at 7-6 before
Maddie Reynolds – who sealed the match with four straight aces a game later – pushed a kill into Cox’s face.

After watching the ball roll off her chest, she broke out into a toothy grin and giggled.

“I just thought it was funny,” she said.

“As long as no one is hurt,” Harkleroad said, “we laugh.”

The learning continued throughout the match. In the first game, Emily Fox almost served the ball before the whistle was blown during a Providence substitution. Steadman, who played volleyball and
basketball at Tennessee High, could only shrug her shoulders and smile.

“They knew nothing when we first started,” she said. “They thought we played with eight players on each side. They’re learning, but they’ve done well. They’re good athletes and that helps.”

It all appeared to be coming together as the two teams got deeper into the second game. After the Knights went on an 8-2 run to give themselves some breathing room, the Crusaders came storming
back, piling a Kristen Osborne ace and a Sara Fox kill atop two Providence errors to close the gap to 24-23. McKinney answered by hammering down another kill to end the game.

“It’s because we didn’t have our shoes,” Cox joked.

The team is still awaiting the arrival of the silver-and-white Nikes that will complete the navy-blue uniforms. The plan is to break the shoes in, “then start winning some games,” Harkleroad said before walking off the court, smiling.

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Point: Emily Fox’s dig that sailed back over the net.
First ace: Victory Cox. 5-15 Game 1
Kill: Emily Fox. 7-17 Game 1
First standing ovation: Hannah Harkleroad’s dig of Maddie Reynolds in Game 1
First lead: Game 2 1-0 off a Casey Baskins service error.