Sand Rock gave a supreme effort, but the Lady Wildcats failed to defend their Class 2A, Area 11 Volleyball Tournament title on Oct. 17 at Sand Rock.

No. 5 ranked Sand Rock (28-14) took the runner-up spot after falling to the No. 6 ranked Gaston, 25-14, 25-16 in the second championship match.

Both teams advanced to the regional tournament this Saturday.

The Lady Wildcats opened with a 25-10, 26-28, 25-7 win over Westbrook Christian before falling to the Lady Bull-dogs, 25-13, 21-25, 24-26 in the winners’ semifinals.

Sand Rock rebounded with a 25-14, 25-18 victory over No. 7 West End in a playback match to gain another shot at Gaston in the championship.

The hosts then forced a second title match with a 25-19, 25-17 sweep of the Lady Bulldogs.

The Lady Wildcats drew within 14-8 in game 1, but a 7-2 Gaston run gave the Lady Bulldogs a sizable cushion down the stretch on the way to their nine-point victory.

Sand Rock led 14-13 in game 2, but Gaston took the advantage for good at 15-14, and the Lady Bulldogs closed out the match with a 7-1 run to claim the first place trophy.

“I was proud of how we didn’t give up after we played four straight matches,” said Sand Rock head coach Lisa Bates. “If we did the job earlier in the day, we wouldn’t have put ourselves in that position. We just lost the momentum after the first [championship] match. Mentally, we got into a downshift and allowed some things to affect us that shouldn’t have. There were three ranked teams in this tournament. It was great competition, and it’s a shame that one of us had to go home for the year.”

For the Lady Wildcats, Taylor Burt had 59 kills, followed by Angelique Kordich with 36 and Leanna Young with 21.

Chelsey Chambers handed out 113 assists.

Amy Crane served up seven aces, followed by Young with five, Burt and Kordich with four each and Chambers with three.

Burt had 13 blocks, followed by Chambers with nine, Ashley Beck with seven and Crane with five.

Young came up with 29 digs, followed by Kordich and Crane with 26 each, Burt with 25, Beck with 14 and Chambers with eight.

The All-Tournament team consisted of Burt, Kordich and Young; Gaston’s Jazmine Martin (MVP), Melissa Gibbs, Jeannette Castillo and Morgan Bogle; West End’s Shae Watkins and Ashley Pitts; and Westbrook Christian’s Etta Parnell