The Whitley County Lady Colonel volleyball team captured the program’s first-ever state tournament win and will now advance to Thursday’s Elite 8 matchup against Notre Dame after rallying to beat Wolfe County in four sets on Monday.
“This is a huge win for our volleyball program on so many different levels — knowing that after tonight there will only be eight volleyball teams still playing and we are one of them,” Whitley County coach David Halcomb said. “It’s huge for our administration, parents, student body, former players — all of those played a part in this. This is the biggest win in history of our program.”
The Lady Colonels (25-14) dropped the first set, 25-19, before rallying to win the final three sets, 25-21, 27-25, and 25-14.
Whitley County has now reeled off a season-best 10 matches in a row while losing only seven sets during the process.
“It shows everything about the character of these girls,” Halcomb said. “I’ve said it since the spring, they simply love to play the game of volleyball and they have learned to play for one another and lift each other up out on the court. They love each other and I believe they love our coaching staff. I know we love them.
“They weren’t ready to give up on each other — showed so much grit, heart and determination. I couldn’t be more proud of them,” he added. “All of Whitley County should be proud of how they represented our community tonight.”
The Lady Colonels will be going up against a Notre Dane team on Thursday that possesses a 30-5 record. The Pandas are winners of seven straight with their only in-state loss coming to Sacred Heart way back on Aug. 17.
“Notre Dame is one of the top teams in the state year in and year out,” Halcomb said. “We are gonna enjoy the heck out of this win and then get back in the gym tomorrow to practice and watch film on them. We will prepare the same way we have been, go to GRC and give great effort. I have no doubts about that. It’s my job to get them as ready as I can and we will go give it our best shot.”
