Signal Mountain fights back to TSSAA Class AA state volleyball tournament

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog

SMYRNA, Tenn. - Signal Mountain won't be playing nearly as many sets today as it did Thursday. It won't have to.

The Lady Eagles started the day needing three victories to put themselves in the championship match of the TSSAA Class AA state volleyball tournament. Thirteen sets later, that's where they are.

The Lady Eagles defeated Harpeth 3-1 and Dyersburg 3-1 before holding off Knoxville Catholic 3-2 in the losers-bracket final at Stewarts Creek High School.

Signal Mountain (46-11) will play Christian Academy of Knoxville in the title match scheduled at Siegel High School at 5 p.m. EDT. CAK beat Signal Mountain in five in a winners-bracket semifinal Wednesday.

Signal Mountain's set scores against Harpeth were 25-17, 25-22, 23-25, 25-18. The Lady Eagles then had a break for a match before coming back against Dyersburg and winning 25-27, 28-26, 25-22, 25-20.

The only rest they got before the Catholic match was while the Lady Irish warmed up. Those set scores were 25-23, 25-16, 16-25, 10-25, 15-13.

"All day today was about the seniors," Signal Mountain coach Jennifer Redman said. "They did not want to lose."

Redman went on to say she turned the huddles over to the seniors. Apparently what they had to say was most important.

"I think they'll be ready," Redman said of her players despite the long day of play Thursday. "These seniors came here with a goal, and they have not met it yet."

Taelor Kellum was strong at the net all day for the Lady Eagles, totaling 89 kills and 11 blocks. Aryn Sanders sparked the back-row play with 64 digs. Amanda Thielges led with 121 assists.

Lady Bucs ousted

Boyd-Buchanan held an edge over South Greene through three sets but was unable to hold off the Lady Rebels, who rallied for a 3-2 victory Thursday in the TSSAA Class A tournament at Blackman High School in Murfreesboro.

The Lady Buccaneers ended up tied for fifth in the tournament and finished their season with a 33-15 record.

"I thought the season was great," Boyd-Buchanan first-year coach Alfie Dodd said. "I thought we played tough at the end of the season. We just didn't carry it over to the state tournament."

The Lady Bucs led 2-1 in sets, but in the fourth South Greene started by scoring the first three points. Soon after, the lead ballooned to 9-1. The set scores ended up 25-11, 21-25, 21-25, 25-15, 15-12.

"We had nervousness all the way around," Dodd said. "Nervousness, and when one head would drop, the rest would follow kind of thing.

"They jumped on us in the fourth with three or four tips in a row. We didn't set our defense to cover that. Then heads went down and four, five, six come right along after."

Dodd added that having "one weapon" at the net wasn't enough to get by at this level. Asia Kirkman paced the Lady Bucs' hitting with 16 kills, but the next-closest teammates in kills were Sarah Emrey and Kristen Reynolds with seven each. Also some of the kills by Reynolds, who had 14 assists in support of Halie Williamson's team-high 17, came off fake sets.

Emrey was the blocks leader with 3.5. Libero Katie DeLay totaled 56 digs and Kirkman had four of Boyd-Buchanan's 12 aces.

Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him at twitter.com/KelleySmiddie.

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