There's probably not a local high school coach that enjoys her job any more than Baylor's Sarah Lail.  She's been at the helm of the Lady Red Raiders and always has outstanding teams.

This year's team may be one of the best she's ever had.

Granted, this is the first week of the season and Baylor is now 2-0 after wins over Soddy Daisy on Tuesday and now a quick two-set sweep of Brentwood Academy on Thursday afternoon just before the same two teams squared off on the football field.

Turned out to be a pretty good day for the Red Raiders as the volleyball team prevailed by scores of 25-14 and 25-19 before the football team prevailed 38-20 in a rematch of last year's D-II-AAA state championship game at Finley Stadium.

"That was fun.  This is one of the most unique groups of girls I've ever coached as they are a fun group, they love to work hard and they're capable of beating you from a number of spots," Lail said afterward.

"I'm really impressed with what they're capable of doing.  We have a great mix of younger girls who mix in great with the older ones.  It took us a few minutes to get settled in today, but I felt like we stuck to our game plan and they all did their job," she added.

Brentwood Academy coach Lynn Dearing was quick to praise Baylor for making her own team's life hard.

"Baylor has a fantastic team as usual and their defense is one of the best.  We hit a lot of balls hard, but they just kept digging them up.  We fought and battled for the entire match.  We had a couple of mental breakdowns, but for the most part, I'm pleased with the way we played," she added.

There was a better than average crowd on hand for a Thursday afternoon match, but a lot of fans for both teams were present for the football game and they just added a volleyball match to their list of activities.

The Lady Eagles played on even terms at the start of both sets, but once Baylor got over their case of nerves, they took care of business in a hurry.  There were four ties in the first five points, including the last time at 5-5. 

A hitting error by the Lady Eagles gave Baylor a 6-5 lead before a kill from Leah Gordon and an ace from Nina Lail put the Lady Red Raiders ahead to stay.  The Lady Eagles called timeouts with scores at 15-10 and 19-11, but there wasn't much they could do to slow the hard-hitting Baylor front line.

Baylor took a 3-1 lead in the second set before the Lady Eagles had their best run of the match as they scored six straight points before Lail called her first timeout.  Just as quickly, Baylor knotted the score at 7-7.  The score was tied for the last time at 10-10 before back-to-back kills from Taylor Warren helped to build a 14-10 lead.

The Lady Eagles cut that lead to three points three more times, but a kill from Kenzie Johnson and an ace from Milyn Hold put Baylor ahead 22-14 and it wasn't long before the match ended.

Johnson led Baylor with nine kills while Rory Oleksik had 14 digs and two aces.  Hold set the pace with 25 assists.

Harper Broyles had 15 digs to lead Brentwood Academy while Maddie Gaburick had four blocks.  Tinsley Casey finished with three kills.

Baylor is now 2-0 while Brentwood Academy is now 1-1.

BRENTWOOD ACADEMY STATS:

Brooke Barry – 1 kill

Everleigh Belville – 3 digs, 1 kill

Parker Bronson – 4 digs

Harper Broyles – 15 digs

Tinsley Casey – 3 kills, 2 digs

Lizzie Dye – 2 kills, 3 blocks

Mary Margaret Dye – 9 digs

Maddie Gaburick – 4 blocks, 1 kill

Mimi Macintyre – 9 digs

Hunter Specht – 2 kills, 1 block

Annabelle Sperring – 1 kill.

BAYLOR STATS:

Gabby Minton – 3 kills, 1 block

Brenna Bagley – 5 digs, 1 ace

Calista Stafford – 8 digs

Leah Gordon – 2 kills

Molly Billington – 5 kills, 1 dig

Rory Oleksik – 14 digs, 2 aces

Nina Lail – 6 digs, 1 ace

Scarlett Kelley – 1 ace

Milyn Hold – 25 assists, 1 ace, 5 digs, 1 block

Kenzie Johnson – 9 kills, 2 digs

Catherine Curtis – 1 kill, 1 dig

Taylor Warren – 5 kills, 1 dig.

(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)