Lady Dragons earn top seed
Clinton’s Tomi Taylor passes the ball during the Lady Dragons’ home matchup with Oak Ridge last Thursday. (photo:Tony Cox )
The Lady Dragons (23-10 overall, 12-0 in the district) defeated Knoxville Halls, 18-25, 25-17, 25-11, 25-18.
Clinton will now be the top seed in the upcoming postseason tournament, which will be held next week at Wildcat Arena in Oak Ridge. Matchups and match times for the tourney weren’t available at press time. The host Lady Wildcats will be the No. 2 seed.
On Monday, the Lady Dragons fell behind the Lady Devils 1-0, dropping their first district set of the season. Clinton, however, quickly bounced back as it featured a balanced hitting attack.
Ellie Murrell had a team-high 12 kills. Josie Moody posted another solid effort as she had nine kills and 10 digs. She was also the Lady Dragons’ leading passer as she dished out 25 assists.
Freshman Parker McGhee was big at the net against the Lady Devils as she finished with seven kills and six blocks. Riley Owens was a force at the net and on the back row as she came up with six kills and 16 digs.
Libero McKenzie Crisp had 10 digs, and Lanee Carmichael finished with five kills. Keagan Skaggs had 12 assists.
The win at Halls came after a busy weekend for Clinton, which split four matches at the State Line Tournament. The Lady Dragons defeated Chuckey-Doak 25-10, 25-15 before losing to Tennessee High 25-17, 25-12. Clinton swept Johnson County 25-13, 25-18 before losing to Daniel Boone in a tough one 27-25, 25-22.
CHS Coach Lorri Johnson had mixed feelings about her squad’s performance over the weekend.
“It was good to get to the gold division, but we lost a 27-25 set to Daniel Boone and we never really got it back,” Johnson said. “If we win that set and we win that match, we’re in the semifinals.
“We’re climbing the ladder little by little, and that’s a good feeling. I don’t think we’ve peaked, but I think we’re beginning to peak at the right time because the district tournament is next week.”