Mosley sweeps Tate in Region 1-6A volleyball opener

LYNN HAVEN — Mosley and Tate were two volleyball teams that knew little about the other on Wednesday. In a few hours, the Aggies learned all they needed to know.

Mosley overcame slight mistakes in the first two sets and responded to a third-set rally to beat Tate 25-16, 25-15, 25-20 in the Region 1-6A quarterfinal at the Jim Redfern Gymnasium. The Dolphins (25-3) advanced to Tuesday’s semifinal and will host Niceville, which defeated Pensacola Washington 3-1. The Aggies finished their season 22-6.

Mosley coach Steve Canfield said it was difficult to find much information on Tate. He scoured area newspapers to little avail and he had no luck finding statistics on websites. Information culled from other coaches revealed Holly Brown as the power hitter for the Aggies and she was mostly neutralized by Rachel Skibba and Deanna Canfield.

Skibba had seven blocks and five kills. Canfield had 19 kills and joined in on several tandem stuffs.

“Rachel played a very good game,” Coach Canfield said. “(Brown) was their big player and we did a good job on her.”

Brown was able to break through the wall in the third set to help the Aggies take their first leads of the match. Tate was able to move out to five one-point leads, its last 20-19 on a Brown kill.

“We hit a lot of balls at them and they kept digging them,” Coach Canfield said. “That’s what happens when you play a team that’s down to their last set and doesn’t want to lose.”

An Ashley Childs kill tied the set 20-20 for Mosley. She went to the service line and didn’t leave, scoring the final five points, with the last punctuated by a Deanna Canfield kill.

Mosley had moments of inconsistency in the first two sets, but it was never seriously threatened. Coach Canfield attributed the foibles to not knowing Tate, as both teams worked to figure out tendencies, strengths and weaknesses on the fly.

Amanda Singletary and Lauren Corbin kept rallies going with 13 and 11 digs, respectively. Singletary nursed a muscle injury and was tended to several times on the sideline. She returned to the match in the third set for her critical passing ability, Coach Canfield said.

Lindsey Richardson led in assists with 20 and added four kills and Cayce May helped extend rallies as well with 18 digs to go along with 10 kills. Deanna Canfield added 14 assists.

Coach Canfield admitted Mosley will have to play crisper next week. However, Mosley knows everything about Niceville. The teams met three times this season with the Dolphins winning two, including the District 2-6A title match.