BAKER — Focused was the word of the day for the Baker School volleyball team as it took the home court against Bethlehem on Tuesday in the Region 1-1A semifinal.
And focused is just what the Gators were.
Any hopes the visiting Wildcats had of upsetting Baker were quickly laid to rest. The Gators were ready to play, and play they did. Baker won the first set 25-4.
After that it wasn’t if the Gators would win, but how quickly they would do so. Baker walked off the floor victorious less than an hour after the 7 p.m. match started. The Gators finished off the sweep taking the second set 25-9 and the third set 25-12.
Baker (16-10) will host Sneads at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Region 1-1A final. The winner will advance to the state semifinal scheduled for Nov. 7.
“We the word we used tonight was we were ‘focused,’” Gator Coach Tommiko Parks. “We came in here focused. We were ready to play.
“We had a good spirit and that was a good thing. That’s what we’ve been waiting for all season.”
If you want focused try 44 Gator kills on for size.
Brittany Brunson led the pack with 11 kills. Ayajah Coleman had kills eight kills, Ashley Black and Taylor Brunson seven kills each. Railey Conner had six kills and Emily Stewart had five kills.
Someone had to dish out assists for those kills. Taylor Brunson had 30 assists. And Lindsey Stewart had 11 assists.
Baker had plenty of defense to go with the offense. The Gators had 41 digs. Jessica Black had eight digs. Taylor Brunson had six digs as did Whitley Taylor.
Baker led 5-3 in the first set before closing it out with a 20-1 run. Ashley Black, Brittany Brunson and Conner did most of the damage during the Gator assault.
Baker never trailed in the second set. The first two sets were played in about 30 minutes.
The third set took a little longer, but there was never any doubt as, with Taylor Brunson in serve to start the set, Baker took a 9-0 lead and pulled away with the win.
“We been pretty focused the last couple of days because we understand we’ve got to win,” Parks said. “We keep saying it’s a win or go home situation so we have to come to the gym focused every time we come in here.”
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Baker focused in region semifinal volleyball win (PHOTOS)