GNTC, who carry only seven players on its roster - all freshmen and all under 5-foot-7 - showed their usual fighting spirit, but ultimately succumbed to a taller Oakwood squad in a three-set match.
The first set was knotted up at 16 when the Alabama crew seized the momentum. They won nine of the final 10 points to take a 25-17 win, and they went up 2-0 with a 25-21 win in the second set.
The third set was tied at 18 apiece when GNTC reeled off three straight points. However, they were unable to hang on to the lead as Oakwood's middle and outside hitters powered their way back to claim a 25-23 win to clinch the match.
Kayla Pierce and Candice McClain each had five kills on the night while McClain collected three aces. Alysa Daniel also had three aces for the Lady Bobcats.
First-year GNTC head coach and Lady Bobcats alum Carrie Powell said the season was an interesting one.
"It was definitely a different type of year than anything I've experienced before, but we really have come a long way," said Powell, whose team finished the season with a 2-13 record. "We basically started the year with four setters, one defensive specialist, and one outside hitter. Now, everyone is playing every position on the floor, so they had to learn to become really versatile. It's really great to see all the improvement in everybody.
"We were underdogs basically all the time, but we had fun. We had our good moments and our bad ones, our ups and our downs, but it ended well and we became closer as a team because we had to stick together. Now we're going to do some recruiting and hopefully we'll have these girls back, depending on where they are going to school next year."
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