Parker: Viqueens shafted in tourney draw

After over a day's worth of faxes, text messages, phone calls and e-mails pleading for a correction to the District 11-A/AA volleyball tournament bracket, the Community Viqueens were told they had to face top-seeded Page in the semifinals.

The Viqueens were saddled with a tough draw in Page in their season finale. (T-G Photo by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Since the first bracket was drawn in the sand between Orgh and Birk in the cavemen days, seed Nos. 1-4 and Nos. 2-3 have matched up in the semifinals of tournaments when all higher seeds win.

Tournament director Chris Binkley made the mistake of mis-aligning the semifinals and attempts were made to get it corrected before play commenced on Thursday night at Van Buren County High School.

There was a communication breakdown long before the tournament even started as it took too long to get the first bracket to the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association (TSSAA).

It was a fiasco upon which Community coach Allison Layne should have never had to battle.

"Oh man, it's been a day, I tell ya. It's probably been one of the roughest days," she said.

From her accounts, she said the bracket was corrected twice before officials went ahead with the mis-aligned version.

"It actually started a little bit less than 48 hours ago when we found out the brackets were wrong, and we tried to adjust them before the game started and that didn't work," Layne said. "Then, immediately after, we got everything settled. The next call was to confirm that this was how it was going to be the next day that we were going to play as the third place team against the No. 2 team. Within 6-8 hours later, they called and said they were going to reverse the bracket on us.

A pair of Lady Patriots converge to make a pass. (T-G photo by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

"We've already started practicing for this one team (Eagleville) we think we're going to play. Then, they reverse it back."

After sending a message at nearly on Wednesday at 11 p.m., the TSSAA responded at 7:41 on Thursday morning, informing Layne it was corrected and the match with Eagleville was back on. Then, at 1:30 p.m., roughly 1 1/2 hour before they got on the bus to head to Spencer, it rotated back to a matchup with Page.

Layne talked to Binkley and the officials before taking the court at 5:45 versus Page. The problem was not rectified, so she played the match under protest. However, the coach isn't too optimistic much, if anything, will happen.

"The whole purpose was just to say that we don't agree with what went on."

At first glance it seems like a situation being blown out of proportion. Then, the realization sets in that a precedence was set by the TSSAA that could very well open a can of worms for future judgments. The final ruling from the TSSAA put it back on the district to vote on which bracket to go with. According to officials, the vote amongst the six schools was deadlocked at 3-all and so the original, broken bracket was played out.

Community went 6-4 during the regular season in 11-A/AA play with their only losses coming to Page and Eagleville, the top two seeds. They took both matchups with Spring Hill, who carried a 4-6 district record into the postseason.

"It's really not fair," Layne said. "They worked so hard for that No. 3 spot, and it's not fair to play in a No. 4 spot."

It was by no means a done deal that their eventual fate would have been any different, but the Viqueens' path would have been less strenuous since they matched up better with Eagleville.

Page made it to the Final Four in Murfreesboro at the Class A/AA state tournament last year after winning the district, region and sectional. Nicole Smith is one of the top players in the state on a team that won over 30 matches and cruised through their regular season district schedule with a 10-0 mark.

Page poses with their plaque after winning the District 11-A/AA tournament. (T-G Photo by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

In the end, Page swept Community 26-24, 25-9, 25-13. Eagleville took care of Spring Hill 25-12, 25-9, 25-10. In the championship, the Lady Patriots rolled the Lady Eagles 25-12, 25-9, 26-24.

It was a head-shaking evening for the Viqueens, which marked the end of volleyball careers of five girls -- Amy Nesius, Carly Daffern, LeAndra Harper, Bianca Maselter and Stephanie Anderson.

"The hardest thing was looking them in the eye and say, 'You don't get what you deserve. You have to play the first place team,' said Layne, whose team had aspirations of earning their first-ever trip to the region tournament.

"It's very devastating because we're losing five of them and to tell them that was your last game. But, on the other end, it's a life lesson I think they'll learn from. Life is not fair."

The coach was proud of how her girls handled it all throughout the process.

"It really didn't concern them who we played. They were ready to play no matter what."

Layne admitted feeling betrayed by her state's governing body over high school athletics.

"We were looking for that clear cut 'Yes' or 'No' and we never got it. There were no guidelines on what to do when this happens. Maybe that it's so rare that this ever happened that nobody knows that there should have been guidelines.

"We've made a loud noise with it, and I think it's going to be heard for awhile how wrong it was for them to mess up. A mistake is a mistake, but it's a fixable mistake and it should have been fixed."

An official looks up from his stand to see a ball disappear into an air conditioning unit near the ceiling. (T-G Photo by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Layne doubles as the girls basketball coach at the school in Unionville and used to hold the same title in softball.

"Everything's just got to be put in perspective," she said. "The minor sports get overlooked a lot. Minor sports should be set the same as the major sports, same guidelines, same standards. A sport's a sport. We're out here to play.

"I don't think we'd every see something like this happen in basketball; it's a major sport for girls and guys. It would have already been fixed because it would have been such a big deal."

A ceiling far too low for volleyball, a net that wasn't regulation height and sagged in the middle and basketball goals that didn't retract into the ceiling only made the tournament more embarrassing to watch. Coincidentally enough, Community lost their final lead of the season when a ball hung up in an air conditioner unit above the referee's stand.

"That's one advantage we did have over Page and Eagleville," Layne said. "We knew when we came up here the net was going to be different. We knew the net was saggy. Air conditioner and stuff, basically we just practiced getting the ball low on passes and you can't flip your hands up. If you flip your hands up, it's going to go straight to the ceiling. That's something you can't do.

"In volleyball, it's very important who's hosting the tournament to have the better gym no matter where it is."