Four years ago, Erin Blalock started her tenure as the Lady Pioneers with an ambitious bunch of youngsters. She had so many kids wanting to play, she founded the program’s first freshman team in hopes of building for the future.
On Thursday night, she saw five of those original players on her first freshman team – plus a new addition that has been a key cog for the Lady Pioneers the last two years - conclude their careers at Charlie Dalton Gym.
Allyson Blalock, Lilly Cantrell, Aleah Davis, Emily Davis, Kennedi Pegg and Jae Stovall went out winners as they led the Lady Pioneers to a victory at home over Cannon County. The four-set win completed a 3-0 final week of the regular season and was an emotional send-off for players who have helped build up the program since 2020.
“The seniors this year are a special group for sure,” said Blalock, who pulled double duty as a coach of six seniors and mom of one Thursday. “(Almost all of them) played together for four years and several of them were playing together a couple of years prior to high school. They have all contributed significantly to our varsity program, even a few as sophomores, and have continued to do so through their senior year.
“I know the girls who have shared the court with each of them have learned from them and grown in ways they may not even know yet simply form playing with and watching this group of young ladies.”
Every senior saw plenty of action in the win over the Lions and all seemingly had trademark highlights in their final home match. Emily and Aleah, who coach Blalock says “have been power hitters on our front row since the beginning,” took turns hammering away at Cannon County. Aleah finished off the second set with a big kill, while Emily smashed a rocket in front of a diving Lady Lion that put the Lady Pioneers up big, 16-8, in the fourth set.
Pegg was usually the setter for most of the big hits throughout the night, but the senior did flip the script in the second set. She broke a 7-7 tie with a big attack at the net, spiking a crucial point to set off an 11-2 run that kept Warren County rolling on senior night.
It was a reminder to coach Blalock of how much the players have worked to find new ways to help their team win over the years.
“Pegg’s been playing the setter role for a long time, but each year they grow into role with new and different skills and it’s been great to watch,” said Blalock.
Allyson stuffed shots at the net and blistered serves all night, while Cantrell was everywhere on defense and helped secure key points early and often. Added with Stovall’s contributions – a transfer from Covenant who was hitting the floor to secure diving digs in every set – the seniors showed out in the final win.
“Allyson has probably shown the most improvement over her four years and has become a dominant factor in the serving and blocking aspects of the game and Lilly has become the most versatile player we have. We’ve asked her to player pretty much everywhere over her time and she’s handled it so well,” said Blalock. “Jae came in and just fit right in with the team. She has been extremely versatile as well and is always looking for and asking for ways to improve her game. That’s a quality that we love seeing in players.”
Warren County tried to keep its winning streak rolling Saturday with a match in the District 7AAA tournament. The Lady Pioneers faced LaVergne, with the results unavailable at press time. If the Lady Pioneers were able to beat the Wolverines for a third time Saturday, they would’ve continued their season with a matchup against Stewarts Creek later that night.
More coverage on the Lady Pioneers’ run in the district tournament will follow this week.
