Lady Dragons unbeaten in league play so far
Clinton High School’s volleyball team is in the midst of perhaps its best season in school history.
The Lady Dragons recently concluded the first half of their District 3-AAA schedule, and they swept their league opponents.
Clinton not only went unbeaten in league play, but it also didn’t drop a set to the likes of Oak Ridge, Karns, Knox Central, Knoxville Halls, Campbell County and Powell.
“We had a good first half, and now we’re looking forward to the second half of the season,” Lady Dragons Coach Lorri Johnson said.
Clinton saw its success on the court continue as it swept the Lady Devils and Lady Wildcats in district tilts.
Those victories came after the Lady Dragons recorded a sweep of crosstown rival Anderson County on the road on Monday, Aug. 28, to help Johnson reach a career milestone.
The veteran coach won her 600th game as a varsity coach to open the week.
“We had a big and fun week,” Johnson said.
The Lady Dragons (12-5 overall, 6-0 in the district) closed out the week by concluding the first round of league play with a 25-8, 25-8, 25-14 win at the Don W. Lockard Gymnasium.
Clinton produced a balanced hitting attack as Tomi Taylor, a senior, led the way with six kills.
Riley Owens, Josie Moody and Ellie Murrell added five kills each, while Lanee Carmichael and Darbi Brummett chipped in with four kills apiece.
Taylor also recorded a service ace and a dig, and Johnson said Tomi had a stellar effort against Halls.
“Tomi is a senior and she had her best game of the season,” Johnson said.
Defensively, Zavie Ford and Keagan Skaggs each came up with eight digs.
On Tuesday, Aug. 29, the Lady Dragons made short work of Oak Ridge as they downed the Lady Wildcats in straight sets, 25-17, 25-12, 25-14.
Moody, Brummett and Carmichael each had four kills. Moody served up a pair of aces, while Brummett added three blocks and Carmichael added three digs.
Against the Lady Wildcats, Owens recorded six aces and seven digs. Zavie Ford posted five digs and four assists, and McKenzie Crisp had 14 digs.
The Lady Dragons return to action Thursday night as they host Campbell County. First serve is slated for 6 p.m.
Schedule addition: Johnson said the Lady Dragons will play in a tournament at the Baylor School in Chattanooga on Sept. 15-16. She noted that CHS was added to the tournament field last week.
“Baylor has a great team, and that tournament will measure where we are as far as competing on the state level,” Johnson said.
