By JESSE SMITHEY
The 5Star Preps coverage area sent plenty of representatives to Murfreesboro this week for the TSSAA State Volleyball Championships, which are being held at various high school gyms around Rutherford County.
And no area team met an end to their season on Tuesday. But while a few will be fighting off elimination on Wednesday, there were plenty of others like Knoxville Catholic, Anderson County and Hardin Valley that got off to fine starts.
Here’s a quick read on what happened on Day One:
Division II-AA
Knoxville Catholic, which is seeking its first state volleyball championship since 2016, cruised in its first match. The Lady Irish sank Father Ryan in three sets: 25-23, 25-19, 25-15. Catholic (32-9) will take on Briarcrest (39-2) in a state semifinal match at 2:30 p.m. Central time Wednesday at Middle Tennessee Christian.
Catholic is all-too familiar with Briarcrest, which was the 2020 state champion and defeated Catholic in the first round of that tournament in five-set thriller.
Division II-A
Concord Christian School (21-14) fell in its first match Tuesday, 21-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-23, to Notre Dame (29-5) but the Lady Lions fended off elimination Tuesday evening, knocking off Northpoint Christian in four sets.
CCS won that second match 25-23, 20-25, 25-18, 25-10 and ended Northpoint’s season at 26-6.
Concord will play either Notre Dame or Battle Ground Academy at noon Central time Wednesday at Middle Tennessee Christian for the right to advance to Thursday’s state-championship match. The Lady Lions have been there before, having finished state runner-up in 2018 and 2019.
Class AAA
Hardin Valley Academy, whose remarkable postseason run started as a 4-seed in the district tournament, continued its good fortune Tuesday.
The Lady Hawks (33-11) disposed of hometown Murfreesboro Siegel in four sets: 25-19, 14-25, 25-15, 25-21.
Next up for HVA is another midstate opponent: Ravenwood (25-13). These two will play at 9:30 a.m. Central time Wednesday at Blackman High School in Murfreesboro. A win by HVA would put it in the state semifinals. Not bad for a program making its first state appearance since 2017.
Also in Class AAA, Maryville came into the week with championship contender vibes. But the Lady Rebels dropped a five-set opener to a 38-win Collierville team, 20-25, 25-22, 25-22, 22-25, 15-9. That means Maryville (32-9) will face an elimination match at 5 p.m. Central time Wednesday at Blackman High School against Nolensville (38-4).
Maryville has to win four matches to reach Friday’s championship.
Class AA
The Anderson County volleyball team might be the only 5SP team in Murfreesboro the Class AA field, but it is representing East Tennessee well. The Lady Mavericks survived a tough first-round, five-set match against a 31-win Hume-Fogg team, 25-19, 19-25, 24-26, 25-13, 15-8.
Next, Anderson County (36-11) will take on East Hamilton (29-5) at 9:30 a.m. Central time at Rockvale High for the right to move on to the state semifinals.
The Lady Mavericks finished as state runner-up last season and last year’s AA champion Nolensville is now in Class AAA.
CLASS A
South Greene (37-3) and North Greene (21-14) dominated their respective first-round opponents. South Greene’s closest set was a 25-12 decision while North Greene’s was 25-16.
But the two Greene County rivals won’t face off in Round Two.
South Greene, which is making its 13th consecutive state appearance this week, will face 2020 runner-up Loretto (39-8) at 9:30 a.m. Central time Wednesday at Siegel High School in Murfreesboro.
North Greene takes on 2020 Class A state champion Summertown (41-4) at noon at Siegel.
Should both South Greene and North Greene win those matches, they would face each other in the state semifinal round Thursday. Should they both lose, they would drop into the elimination bracket and face different opponents.
South Greene has faced North Greene four times this season, winning each match in straight sets.
South Greene is still searching for its first state volleyball championship, having finished runner-up five times. North Greene is in making its first appearance all-time this week and the program’s first in 10 years. It has never reached a state final.