[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 17]
[House]
[Pages 25066-25067]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



   SAVANNAH COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL VICTORIOUS IN VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

  (Mr. KINGSTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks and include extraneous 
material.)
  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, last year I was in Macon, Georgia, for the 
Girls' State Championship Basketball Game, and it was a great thrill 
when I saw that the Savannah Country Day girls were victorious.
  Last night, unfortunately, I was unable to attend, but many of the 
same young women were victorious in winning Savannah Country Day's 
first volleyball championship, which I believe is also the first 
volleyball championship for Savannah, Georgia.
  They do a great job. They work hard and I have, Mr. Speaker, the 
roster of the young women who played on that team. And I will submit 
that for the Record, as well as the name of the coaches.
  Mr. Speaker, I also want to take particular pleasure in bragging 
about my very own goddaughter, Sarah Sipple, who is one of the team's 
leaders and one of the great athletes of that school, who was very much 
in the thick of the action yesterday. I regret I could not have been 
there in person, but I watched these young women grow up, many since 
they were 2 years old and 3 years old.
  I can tell my colleagues, there are great things going on in 
Savannah, Georgia, with woman athletics; but even more than that, I am 
proud to say it is going on nationally.
  Athletics is something that teaches us all to be better people, 
better team players, better citizens in the long run and to take care 
of ourselves. It makes us more competitive as a Nation, so I am proud 
to see that Savannah Country Day School is doing its part, and I am 
especially proud of the coach and all of these young women.

            [From the Savannah Morning News, Oct. 26, 2000]

   Country Day defeats Landmark Christian for Savannah's first title

                           (By Jeff Sentell)

       There was too much at stake--the program's first state 
     volleyball championship, Savannah's first title in the sport 
     and the second crown for five well-deserving leaders.
       There were too many people counting on them--fans who 
     wanted to experience another title at the school, future 
     players who wanted inspiration and a community that wanted to 
     experience history.
       There was their need to fulfill a season-long goal--one 
     that stood so close, yet appeared to be slipping away.
       As Savannah Country Day began Game 4 in Wednesday night's 
     state Class AA/A title match, those thoughts raced through 
     the players' minds. Each came to the same decision before 
     completing a 15-7, 15-10, 12-15, 15-13 win over visiting 
     Landmark Christian.
       ``Losing was not an option,'' junior Melissa McNaughton 
     said, ``We wanted it more than anything, so we refused to 
     lose.''
       Late in the third game, a long-awaited title for the 
     program and the city, along with state-wide respect appeared 
     a foregone conclusion. The Lady Hornets (29-11) led Landmark 
     12-8 and owned the serve. They already had impressive 
     victories in the first two games against a team they split 
     two hard-fought matches with this season.
       Minutes later, the Lady War Eagles (42-9) unleashed seven 
     consecutive points to win the game and stave off elimination. 
     Momentum shifted as well, and the Lady War Eagles knew it. 
     They strutted onto the court for Game 4 with big smiles and 
     were ready to force a decisive fifth game.
       ``But we focused on the task at hand,'' SCD junior Mary 
     Jane Martin said. ``We knew what we had to do. We pulled it 
     together, and we pulled it out.''
       Landmark built leads of 9-5, 11-9 and 13-12 in the fourth 
     game. But an unyielding desire and determination sparked a 
     final surge.
       Anne Carson's consecutive kills off Lexa Clark's assists 
     finished the job and set off a wild celebration.
       ``Oh my gosh--I can't describe what this feels like,'' 
     Carson said. ``I'll never forget this. I'll cherish this for 
     the rest of my life.''
       ``I've never had anything like that happen,'' Sipple said 
     after escaping a barrage of fans that converged on the team 
     at midcourt. ``It's amazing.''
       SCD's fans provided a spark for the team from the outset. 
     It only took 21 minutes for the Lady Hornets to dispatch 
     Landmark in the first game.
       SCD led 9-3 before the Lady War Eagles became comfortable 
     in the match. More important, the trio of Carson (nine 
     kills), Sipple (17 kills) and Clark (44 assists) found their 
     rhythm, and SCD's supporting cast lent a helping hand.
       ``Anne and Sarah really hit the ball well, but everybody 
     did well,'' Clark said. ``We knew we could get it done as 
     long as we came together.''
       SCD only trailed twice in the first two games, at 3-2 in 
     Game 1 and 1-0 in Game 2, But Landmark rebounded behind the 
     play of Julie Van't Wout (14 kills, four blocks).
       The 6-foot junior's aggressiveness at the net offensively 
     and defensively caused problems for the Lady Hornets, 
     especially in Game 3. So SCD chose to maneuver around her.
       ``She's an absolutely great player,'' Carson said. ``So we 
     had to be smart. We had to start tipping the ball and going 
     around the blocks.'' The Lady Hornets also relied on past 
     experiences. They lost a game apiece to Landmark and Athens 
     Academy during last Saturday's Elite Eight tournament. Each 
     time, they rallied to victory.
       ``That gave us a lot of confidence,'' Sipple said. ``We 
     have been playing so well lately. So we knew we could do 
     it.''
       McNaughton added, ``We didn't give up, because we refused 
     to give up. We wanted to be a part of something special, and 
     this is special.''
       Elizabeth Eichholz, Betsy Miller, Sarah Sipple--Captain, 
     Julia Train--Captain, Anne Carson, Melissa McNaughton, Mary 
     Jane Martin--Captain, Alison Morris, Lexa Clark, Wendy Mayer, 
     and Sall Sumer.

[[Page 25067]]

       Jade Aaron, Caroline Baker, Alex Brennan, Katie Coy, 
     Marquin McMath, Lyn Reeve, Ashley Jones, Jennifer Ross, 
     Katherine Royal, and Lizzy Sprague.
       Coaching staff: Ben Ladd--head coach, Carol Schretter, and 
     Phillip Schretter.

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