Russellville Lady Indians place second at Tipton Volleyball Tourney

The Russellville High School varsity volleyball team participated in the Tipton Volleyball Tournament Saturday, Sept. 10, where the Lady Indians ended up losing the championship game to the host of the tournament.

Russellville started the tourney off with a split with Tipton 23-25 and 25-16, then defeated Hallsville 25-22 and 25-23. After a split with Centralia, 25-22 and 20-25, Russellville played Tipton in the championship match and lost 23-25, 25-19 and 3-15.

"We started off strong and finished first in round robin pool play which advanced us to the championship game," Russellville Coach Ashley Karle said. "We lost one of our starting middles due to a rolled ankle during the first set, which totally took a turn for the worst. I'm not sure the girls have ever experienced a traumatic event like that during a game; it definitely affected their mentality and play. We came back the second set, but then gave up the third set. I told the girls I don't mind losing, but I hate losing like that. But after we got over the emotional state, we had an amazing day. The girls should be proud of themselves. Since the summer, we've played in tournaments and haven't had the best results, but this one was a 180 for us. We had a hard fought day, and overall, a very successful day."

For more of this story check out the Sept. 14 issue of the California Democrat.