Dazzlers in Crucial Lawrence County at Lincoln County Battle

Two teams pulling everything out of their hats trying to position themselves for a deep postseason run often equates to good games and the second meeting between the Division I-AAA District 10 leaders led to another five-set barn burner.   The home team once again came out on top as the host Lincoln County Falcons (12-6 overall, 8-1 district) made a few more plays to edge the Lawrence County Wildcats, 3-2 (25-19, 20-25, 25-21, 26-28, 16-14) to even things up at the top. Lawrence County (20-5, 8-1) won the first battle in Lawrenceburg, 3-2 (21-25, 27-25, 26-24, 26-28, 15-3) on Aug. 25. If the teams win out and set up a rubber match in the district championship game, that game could be all the more exciting.   Lincoln County may be the deeper team with nine seniors compared to none for Lawrence County. The Falcons saw libero Brooklyn Howard, [player_tooltip player_id='801577' first='Elizabeth' last='Lyon'], [player_tooltip player_id='961773' first='Jaycee' last='Haislip'] and [player_tooltip player_id='791792' first='Arleigh' last='Posey'] make crisp passes so setter [player_tooltip player_id='988724' first='Lucy' last='Summers'] could distribute the ball to the talented hitters led by senior pin hitters [player_tooltip player_id='837201' first='Reese' last='Winsett'] and [player_tooltip player_id='817945' first='Reese' last='Cunningham']. Middles [player_tooltip player_id='961769' first='Daisy' last='Pittenger'], [player_tooltip player_id='812422' first='Chloe' last='Gibson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='830506' first='Brinley' last='Moran'] also took nice swings to give the Falcons balance.   "I think resilience is one of the things that really shows in games like that," Lincoln County head coach Sarah Grace Byrd said. "You know what to do. You trust your team. You know the game. You know your strengths. You also probably know your weaknesses and we've watched enough film where we know a little bit of theirs. I think we utilized probably all parts of our court - offense and defense. Offensively, I think we could have taken care of business quicker in some situations. We gave the some opportunities in some cases. I think we learned that. We were just talking about that in the locker room. I think our offense will grow from that. It was a good game."   Lawrence County has some great young talent behind potential district most valuable player in junior outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='940308' first='Liyah' last='Dixon']. Dixon along with libero [player_tooltip player_id='956685' first='Ava' last='Scott-Garland'], Karli Van Pelt, Annie Lloyd and Lainey Littrell made nice passes to setter Jaci Shultz. While the Cats can go to Dixon if a big kill is needed, Addison Surratt, Collyns Newton, [player_tooltip player_id='956687' first='Liddy' last='Cox']. [player_tooltip player_id='956682' first='Destiny' last='Daniel'] and Emma Surratt have shown the propensity to terminate balls. These players dazzled in the barn burner.   Lincoln County hosts White County on Saturday at 2 p.m. Lawrence County travels to Summertown on Monday for a 6 p.m. game.    Cunningham (pictured) takes hard swings on go routes. Cunningham came through time and time again in the clutch for the Falcons. Cunningham hits through blocks and tools them for big points. Cunningham does a great job getting on top of balls and punding them to the floor. Cunningham also puts over tough crosses. Cunningham is also aggressive on defense and sends ovver tough float serves. Cunningham said mixing up hits gets defenders moving on their feet and opens up other shots.     Dixon has the total package and uses every tool in her tool kit trying to lift the Cats to victory. Dixon has a high attack point and gets on top of balls to smack them to the ground. Dixon takes hard shoves to side lines and tools blocks. Dixon does not hesitate to send balls over on second contacts and even takes hard swings from the back row. Dixon makes good in-air adjustments and uses her off (left) hand to put off shots into shallow zones. Dixon has quality sets and has great timing on her blocks.     Winsett is also a playmaker for the Falcons. She hits hard line shots and tools blocks. Winsett mixes in impressive cut shots and amazing crosses. Winsett does a good job reacting quickly on defense and fools opponents with great topspin on her serves. Winsett said telling the younger players they are supported keeps them calm throughout games and mistakes are common. Then, Winsett said the team needs to focus on the next ball.     Summers is a great leader on the court. Summers involves a number of hitters, but can also find the hot hitters in clutch situations. She makes plenty of good decisions witn her sets. Summers mixes in deceptive setter dumps and serves up tough floaters. Summers said she has improved moving the ball around and not setting to one place.     Scott-Garland displayed good range throughout the game. She does a good job stepping to balls and forms walls around them to make the crisp two to three-point passes. She does a good job reading hitters and beating balls to their destinations on the floor. She kept a number of plays alive with her athleticism.     Pittenger helps give the Falcons balance in the middle with her swings on ones. Pittenger even puts across tough crosses and mixes in soft shots. Pittenger puts down overpassed balls with authority and sends over serves that paint back lines for quick points. Pittenger does a great job bouncing back from mistakes.     Daniel gives the Cats good size in the middle. She gets hands on balls on defense to slow them down for the back row at the minimum. Daniel even forces balls high and wide. Daniel has developed tough cross shots and finds open spots on the floor in different ways. Daniel uses her off (left) hand to tips balls to the shallow middle. Daniel even tips balls to the side lines from the pins. Daniel will continue to grow as she gains more confidence.    Note from Writer   Mike Graham has been writing for Prep Dig for two years and has enjoyed getting to know the volleyball scenes in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee. If you liked the story, please copy and paste to X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. You may also follow us at @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/prepdigkentucky/#">prepdigkentucky</a>, @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/prepdigtennessee/#">prepdigtennessee</a> or @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/prepdigoh/#">prepdigoh</a> on Instagram in addition to @PrepDigKy, @PrepDigTN or @PrepDigOH on X. 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Two teams pulling everything out of their hats trying to position themselves for a deep postseason run often equates to good games and the second meeting between the Division I-AAA District 10 leaders led to another five-set barn burner.