State champion Lady Raptors host volleyball regionals on Tuesday

Brentwood Home Page news reports
The second  Battle of the Woods in girls soccer this season between host Brentwood High and Ravenwood on Monday night will decide which team plays for the district tournament title and advances into regionals.

For the other team, the season will be over.

Brentwood goalie Kat Lee makes another save against Ravenwood in the previous Battle of the Woods. (BHP photo)

BHS won the earlier meeting 5-2 and that victory basically gave the Lady Bruins the second seed and the bye into today's 7:15 p.m. District 11-AAA semifinal.

RHS, however, also advanced directly into the semifinal round following Hillsboro's forfeit in a district play-in game scheduled on Saturday. The Lady Raptors (13-3 overall) went 3-2 during the 11-AAA regular-season schedule, with losses to Brentwood and top-seeded Franklin.

The Lady Bruins started off the season shaky with a 1-3 record, including losses to BGA, JPII and a 7-1 pounding by Franklin. But BHS put together a six-game win streak with four shutouts in the middle of the season, allowing only the two goals by RHS and one by Ensworth.

Ravenwood started off 3-0, then lost the next three (to Siegel, Franklin and Brentwood) before ripping off an eight-game win streak heading into the postseason. RHS hasn't lost since the Sept. 20 regular-season Battle of the Woods.

Brentwood junior Meg Howard scored a hat trick in the previous meeting with the Raptors. Howard and sophomore Mary Stuart Schwarz both scored goals in the first four minutes.

Caitllin Boone pulled Ravenwood within 2-1, but early in the second half Howard scored her other two goals to make it 4-1.

BHS keeper Kat Lee saved a series of 12 RHS shots in the second half, with Haley Lemasters finally scoring on Shelby Todd's cross with 7:30 left. Schwarz netted another goal for the Bruins in the last minute.

Cammy Gilfillan had two assists and Leah Nash one for Brentwood. Shelby Todd's cross set up the Raptors' second goal.

VOLLEYBALL REGIONALS

Ravenwood, the defending Class AAA state champion, also has the home-court advantage at the Region 6-AAA volleyball tournament semifinals and finals on Tuesday.

Ravenwood plays in Tuesday's regional, with substate set for Thursday. (Photo by Peg Fredi for BHP)

The Lady Raptors, which just captured its third straight district title, goes for another regional championship starting with a 4:30 p.m. semifinal game with Hillsboro. RHS hasn't lost to another team from Tennessee so far this season, and will likely advance into the championship match at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday against the Overton-Independence winner at 6 p.m.

RHS has a strong class of five seniors, including Alyssa Ivey at setter, Stephanie Cerino, Jazzy Oates, Micaela Bailey and Sara Rains. Sophomore Kat Hutson, whose sister Madelyn is a freshman for the University of Texas volleyball team this fall, played a lot as a freshman and is becoming a force in her own right.