Down 0-1 after losing 7-25 to No. 6 Piedmont, the No. 5 Lady Wildcats (32-6) evened the match following a 25-21 win in game 2.
The Lady Bulldogs (34-16) regained the upper hand with a 25-19 victory in game 3, but the hosts forced a deciding game 5 after a 25-12 triumph in game 4.
Piedmont opened the game with leads of 6-2 and 9-4 before Logan Smith‘s three straight aces helped Sand Rock force a 10-10 tie.
The Lady ‘Dogs went up 12-11, but that turned out to be the visitor’s final advantage, as the Lady ‘Cats closed out the contest with a 4-1 spurt to clam the 15-12 win and a second straight area title.
Sand Rock faces Ider Region C Tournament at Westminster Christian in Huntsville on Saturday.
“I’m really proud of the girls for coming back after an awful first game,” said Sand Rock head coach Lisa Bates. “We passed atrociously and pretty much got our tails kicked. I was a little worried how we would respond, but we came back strong and gave folks their six dollars’ worth.
“Lauren Bell didn’t get named to the All-Tournament team, but when we were down a game I saw a look in her eyes that she wanted this match, and she fired up her teammates and was huge for us with some big defensive plays.”
Sand Rock received a first-round bye as the host team, while Piedmont posted a 25-7, 25-9, 25-11 win over Westbrook Christian in the semifinal game.
Tournament MVP Chelsey Chambers dished out 44 assists and had three blocks.
Jennifer Campbell finished with 21 assists, followed by Megan Battles with 16 and Leanna Young with 11.
Smith served up seven aces.
Bell came up with 20 digs, while Young added 18.
“We had to get to know ourselves again as a team after losing the county tournament [to Spring Garden on Oct. 6],” said Bates. “The wins over Sardis and Spring Garden last week really helped get us back to the level that we were playing at.”
Joining Chambers on the All-Tournament team were Battles, Campbell, Young, Piedmont’s Miranda Givens, Kari Galloway and Brittany Strott and Westbrook’s Reilly Johnson
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