Etowah volleyball coach Susan Little said she pulled her five seniors aside at practice Friday for a chat. She told them this was their last chance to make history.

There have been 16 Cherokee County tournaments, and Sequoyah has won 14 of them. Woodstock is the only other team to claim a county title - winning twice, in 1998 and 2003.

The Etowah seniors decided this was the year to shake things up, and it showed on the court. Both Etowah and Sequoyah were undefeated in round robin play Saturday afternoon going into their 2 p.m. match with each other, but the Lady Eagles emerged as the more experienced team, overpowering the Lady Chiefs (25-11, 25-17) at Cherokee High School for their first title.

"It's the first time in the history of Etowah," Little said. "It's been three years in the making, and we finally did it. The last couple of years were so close, and Sequoyah has always been the team to beat. This year, there was no way we're letting up. I told them if we didn't take it this year, it wasn't going to happen."

Senior Claire Denny controlled the game offensively, leading the Lady Eagles with nine kills. Fellow senior Jordan Karst had 15 digs and four aces, and senior Kayla Spivey contributed with five kills. Courtney Cohen, who is only a sophomore, led the way defensively with five digs and had three kills.

Sequoyah's leading hitter, Tori O'Brien, was held to four kills and two solo blocks. Morgan Page also posted four kills, and Morgan Downey dished out eight assists.

"I thought the kids played hard, but we were out-gunned," Sequoyah coach Kelly Audia said. "(Etowah) played well when they had to play well. My hats off to them. We'll see them next year and see what happens."

The Lady Eagles were challenged early in the second game after cruising in the first. They committed a ball-handling error on the first point of the game, and Sequoyah's Whitney Barton smacked an ace for a 2-0 lead.

Etowah didn't let Sequoyah stay ahead for long. The Lady Eagles went on a 9-0 run with Karst serving eight straight points, and they were back in control at 9-2. Karst served three aces during Etowah's service run; Sequoyah made two errors; Denny provided two kills; and Lindsey Mason had one.

But the Lady Chiefs made Etowah uncomfortable once again with runs of their own. A kill by Emily Galloway and a block by O'Brien cut the Etowah lead to four points. Kills by O'Brien and Downey put the Lady Chiefs within two points before the Lady Eagles were forced to call time out.

"We couldn't get down on ourselves," said Somer Stoltz, who finished with two kills. "We said this is it and we couldn't let go. This was the last chance for us."

Etowah never gave Sequoyah a chance to win afterwards. The Lady Eagles embarked on another long run on Cohen's serve. An ace by Cohen and a kill by Stoltz gave them a 17-9 lead before Audia pulled his team aside.

The Lady Eagles continued pulling away. A Mason block gave them a 20-10 advantage; a kill by Spivey made it 22-13, and Karst hit a winner for a 23-15 lead.

The highlight of the match was when Karst made a front row dive to stop a kill, and her ball went over the net untouched to give Etowah seven match points. A smash by Denney sealed it for the Lady Eagles.

"It's an amazing feeling. We finally accomplished our goal," Karst said. "We had to give it out all. No mercy."

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