Burton destroys Patrick Henry tournament

John I. Burton's Volleyball team participates in the Patrick Henry Tournament every year. This year, the tournament took place on September 12th at Patrick Henry High School. Over the past few years of competing in the tournament, Burton has not brought home a single winning trophy for first place.  This year, though, the Lady Raiders came out with a perfect record and a first place trophy to call their own. Over half of the teams participating in this event were from 2A schools, which are larger schools, in contrast to John I. Burton, which is a small 1A school.

At Patrick Henry, there were eight total teams that came to play volleyball, but the Raiders only played four to "steal" the trophy because it was single elimination. Tavi S., Kira S., Zoe E., Audrey G., Sarah M., and Iyanna M. constitute the starting six players for Burton; not to mention the team's rotating players: Amanda C., Jasmin R., Ally P., and Jessica A.. Major points came from leading kills performed by Sarah M. and Audrey G.. The leading servers for the team included Kira S., Sarah M., and Audrey G..

The final game was played against Floyd County's Lady Buffalos, a 2A team with outstanding work ethic. In the first set of the game, the Raiders fought hard, but were unable to defeat the Lady Buffalos. In the second set, the team overcame their struggles from the first set and caught back up with Floyd County; they won the second set. In the final set, the game was close, but with a strong love for the game and great teamwork, JIB defeated Floyd County for the first place titled trophy. The head coach, Donnie Potter, and assistant coach, Lauren Potter, described their emotion after the games in one word: "PROUD!"

Giving some insight into the tournament, Coach Potter said, "Our team was very prepared for this tournament. We have been having some pretty tough practices. We worked hard on every single skill necessary to be successful on the court. Along with our skill work, we conditioned a lot. At the end of the day it paid off. Floyd County was tired, and we were not. This team has been playing together for a while and it feels like everything is coming together. They work extremely hard and have love for the game and their team. They earned that trophy through dedication and hard work. Very proud of each and every one of them!"

 " How will you be remembered?"





Co-written By: Taylor Collins