BY JESSE SMITHEY
Two area teams will vie for state volleyball championships in their respective classifications Thursday in Murfreesboro.
Four others will be fighting off elimination.
Here are all the details on what happened on Day Two of the 2021 TSSAA State Volleyball Championships …
Division II-AA
No surprises.
Nothing the Knoxville Catholic volleyball team will see in Thursday’s Division II-AA Championship match against Briarcrest (40-2) should catch them off guard.
The Lady Irish are quite familiar with Briarcrest, having faced them in last year’s state tournament and having lost to them Wednesday in a five-set match.
Catholic volleyball coach Brent Carter. (Photo by Danny Parker)
But Catholic has had success against Briarcrest, too. The Lady Irish beat them on Sept. 18.
The two will square off at 2 p.m. Central time Thursday in the season finale at Middle Tennessee Christian in Murfreesboro.
“So, we’re fully confident going into tomorrow that we can compete with them and have a shot to win this thing,” said Catholic coach Brent Carter.
“There’s really nothing they do that’s out of the ordinary. They just have some very good athletes in quality positions. They’re very well coached. … And when they’re in system, it’s like facing us when we’re in system. You’re not going to beat us if we’re in system all night. And we’re not going to beat them if they’re in system all night.”
Catholic (33-10) and Briarcrest went at it in a winner’s bracket game early Wednesday. Catholic won the third set 25-23 to go up 2-1. But Briarcrest responded in Set 4 (25-19) and Set 5 (15-9).
But Catholic couldn’t lament the loss. It got a 30-minute rest before facing Father Ryan in a semifinal elimination match. Catholic had beaten Father Ryan the night before. But on little rest from its first match, the Lady Irish found themselves tied 1-1 with Notre Dame and down big early in the third set.
Carter called timeout and reminded his players what he and the staff had told them when they arrived in Murfreesboro.
“I challenged the girls again,” Carter recalled. “I said, ‘Look, girls. If we win or lose this thing, it’s going to be because of you guys. Decide it. You got to decide.’ Man, they took that to heart. It was a turning point. Our seniors stepped up, and there was really no doubt in the match from that point on.”
Catholic rallied to take the third set, 25-23, and then coasted to a 25-18 mark to end the match in the fourth stanza.
The Lady Irish are in a state final for a seventh time overall and sixth time in the last seven years. Their lone state championship in program history came in 2016.
Briarcrest has won three consecutive state titles.
Division II-A
Concord Christian’s volleyball program is no stranger to the bright state title-game lights. The Lady Lions played in the finale in 2018 and 2019.
And they’re hoping that experience comes in handy against a favored Battle Ground Academy (30-2).
Concord Christian (22-14) fended off Notre Dame in five sets — 21-25, 25-21, 24-26, 25-23, 15-9 — on Wednesday to reach the state championship round.
Concord’s mantra this week was to “stay calm and play confident.” And that’s what they did against Notre Dame to claim the final two sets, Concord coach Carmen Hochevar said.
Annabelle Sulish, a senior standout for Concord and Southern Illinois commitment, finished with 32 kills, 25 digs, three aces and four blocks.
“They stayed mentally strong,” Hochevar said of her team. “Our energy just was contagious today. We just got stronger as the match went on, because I knew that Notre Dame had gone four (sets) the match prior to ours. I knew that we had a chance if we could just push them some more games, more sets.”
Concord will play BGA at 11 a.m. Central time on Thursday at Middle Tennessee Christian.
BGA has never played in a volleyball state final.
“I think it’s hard to beat tradition, and we do bring that with us,” said Hochevar. “We’ve been in the Final Four six times since I’ve been the coach and this will be our third championship we’ve been in. So bringing that experience is a big factor.”
“They have some big girls,” Hochevar added about BGA. “They have a real smart setter. Their libero makes few mistakes. Their setter is tall. We haven’t seen a tall setter like that. She can do some quick dumps. She can do a great one-handed back tip. They have height on us. But we bring a strong offense ourselves.”
CLASS AAA
Maryville’s stay in Murfreesboro came to an end Wednesday when the Lady Rebels lost to Nolensville, last year’s Class AA champ, in a highly competitive four-set match.
But Nolensville got the win 26-24, 22-25, 26-24 and 25-22, to advance to face Hardin Valley Academy in an elimination match at noon central time on Thursday.
Hardin Valley (33-12) will have to win three matches Thursday to reach Friday’s state championship. While the Lady Hawks got off to nice start Tuesday with a win, they stumbled Wednesday. The Lady Hawks fell behind fast, dropping the first two sets before catching fire against Ravenwood in the third set. But Ravenwood won the third set, too, by a 32-30 mark.
CLASS AA
For the second consecutive day, Anderson County found itself in a five-set grind of a match. But this time, the Lady Mavs didn’t prevail. After winning Sets 1 and 3 by 27-25 counts, Anderson County worked overtime in the fifth set, as well.
The Lady Mavs stormed to a 9-5 lead in the decisive frame, but East Hamilton and Anderson County wound up knotted up at 14-, 16- and 18-all before East Hamilton pulled away.
Anderson County (36-12) now must win three matches on Thursday to reach the Class AA state championship match for a second consecutive season. The Lady Mavs, who were runners-up last season, begin play at noon Central time Thursday at Rockvale High School. They will take on Sullivan East.
CLASS A
Both North Greene and South Greene dropped their Wednesday matches by 3-0 final scores. North Greene takes on Eagleville at 9:30 a.m. Central time on Thursday in the elimination bracket at Siegel High. South Greene will play at noon, also at Siegel, against Sale Creek.
North Greene or South Greene will have to win three matches Thursday to reach Friday’s championship match.