Lady Eagles arrive

Seymour volleyball made a big splash on the local prep volleyball scene by finishing runner-up in a prestigious weekend tourney From staff reports news@theheraldnewspapers.com The Seymour Lady Eagles volleyball squad continues to turn heads with its impressive play through its first 20 contests of the season. Lady Eagles head coach Ed Irvin’s team is off to 17-3 record, including a 2-0 district mark. Over the past weekend Seymour almost pulled off the unthinkable by making a run to the title round of the prestigious Volleydog Challenge at Bearden High School, a local tournament that annually features 16 of the best prep volleyball squads in the state. The 16 teams are divided into four pools that include four teams each. Each team plays everyone in their respective pool and then is placed in a championship bracket or a competition bracket, depending on their finish in pool play. Seymour jumped out to a fast start by knocking off Clinton, Heritage and Christian Academy of Knoxville in pool play, moving the Lady Eagles into the championship bracket. Prior to Saturday, Seymour had never defeated the Lady Mountaineers in volleyball competition. The Lady Eagles then fed off the momentum garnered during pool play and downed West in the quarterfinal round, setting up a match-up with the talented Lady Spartans of Webb in the semifinals. By this time, the girls from Seymour might have been pinching themselves after such a remarkable and unprecedented run through the highly-competitive tournament. However, Irvin’s Lady Eagles were able to reel themselves in after a shaky start against Webb. The Webb squad managed to take the first game of the match but the resilient Lady Eagles bounced back by using their athleticism and fast-paced style of play to sweep the next two games and win the match over the favored Lady Spartans. Saturday was also the first time in school history that Seymour has ever defeated Webb in volleyball action. Still bouncing on a cloud after the upset of Webb, the Lady Eagles stormed by Maryville in the first game of the finals. However, the Lady Eagles came back down to earth when the Lady Rebels took an early lead in the second game and held on to even things up at one game apiece. Then the wheels came off on the Lady Eagles improbable run, as Maryville coolly and unceremoniously took the third and deciding game of the match, officially collecting the tournament championship. Despite the disappointment of losing the title match to the Lady Rebels, Irvin saw the arrival of a program Saturday in the Bearden High School Gymnasium. “To say we were pleased with our performance would certainly be an understatement,” Irvin commented. “I could not be prouder of a team of young athletes than I am of these Lady Eagles. “They scratched and clawed their way to the finals. There were many times they could have given up but fought back to win a match.”