A lot of people will always remember the incredible crusade of the 2007 Lindsay Lady Knights, a team that went 25-11 in only its second year of varsity-level volleyball, and that list will most likely include the team that managed to eke out a five-game win over Lindsay in the Region II-1A Finals held Saturday night at Weatherford High School.
It took a tremendous effort by the Kopperl Lady Eagles, the No. 4-ranked team in Texas, to finally eliminate the Lady Knights.
Feathers flew in the opener when Lindsay beat the Lady Eagles, 25-17. Kopperl came out on top in game two, but it was a real nail-biter, 26-24.
The Lady Knights marched right back to claim game three, 25-22.
Kopperl answered with a 25-20 win in game four to force the tiebreaker.
The fifth game finally pried these two determined teams apart when the Lady Eagles edged the Lady Knights 15-11 for the right to represent Region II-1A in the state tournament.
All year long, Chelsea Hermes and Kaylee Murphree were the go-to-girls that spearheaded the Lady Knights’ offense and the two athletes turned in a remarkable performance against one of the top defenses in Class A in the regional finals.
Hermes and Murphree each knocked down 29 kills.
Hermes, a senior, somehow managed to come up with 17 digs and eight blocks in her spare time. Murphree, only a sophomore, finished with five blocks and six digs.
The other two seniors on the Lindsay roster also contributed mightily in their last match. Madisen Burrows dished out 53 assists in the regional finals, in addition to keeping eight digs alive and registering one kill. Katelyn Brewer finished with four digs, three kills and an ace.
Lindsay junior Rose Hermes had a pair of digs and a kill. Kristin Martin slipped three aces through the Kopperl defense and the sophomore also put two kills, two blocks and 14 digs in the books. Taylor Loch, another sophomore, chipped in three digs and an ace.
It is also noteworthy that early Saturday morning, Chelsea Hermes, Rose Hermes and Katelyn Brewer were down in Round Rock winning the Class 1A State Cross Country Team Championship.
All in all, it was a storybook year for the second-year volleyball program and their head coach, Bridget Anderle. This was Anderle’s first year at the helm in Lindsay, so the next chapter in the book should be very interesting, as well. But, for a lot of people, nothing will ever be quite like chapter one.
Region II-1A Finals photos by Jay Anderle
