CHS hopes to build on ’23 sucesses
As the Clinton High School volleyball team prepares for the coming season, fourth-year head Coach Lorri Johnson knows things will be different after her team won 26 matches, the District 3-AAA regular-season title, and its first district tournament championship in program history.
“We’re going to have a target on our backs,” Johnson said. “For a long time in our district, it was Oak Ridge or West winning the district championship, and then they moved West out of the district.”
The Lady Dragons went 26-11 in 2023, swept through the regular-season league schedule, and won the district tournament with a three-set victory over Powell, the No. 6 seed. The Lady Dragons were the district’s Cinderella team.
“Powell beat Oak Ridge in the district tournament semifinals, but they weren’t really competitive against us in the championship match,” Johnson said.
Clinton, however, did not win a match in the Region 2-AAA tournament, falling in the semifinals to Hardin Valley Academy in the opening round at home in the Don W. Lockard Gymnasium.
Johnson said the hope for the new season is to move past the region tournament.
“We’ve established ourselves as a top team in our district,” she said. “The goal this year is to advance out of the region tournament, make it to the next level, and make it to the sectionals.
“You have to win one game in the region tournament to do that,” she said. “We want to make it past the region, and we don’t want to just get there.”
Last season, the Lady Dragons lost four seniors who made significant contributions during their first district-tournament run. Clinton, however, has 10 returners who saw significant playing time last year.
“We lost four seniors who will be hard to replace,” Johnson said. “But we have some talented players back, and another year of experience will help us.
“We also have a better volleyball IQ.”
The Lady Dragons will feature three returning seniors, as McKenzie Crisp (libero), Ellie Murrell (middle blocker), and Keagan Skaggs (setter) are back for their final year of high school volleyball.
Clinton also has five returning juniors and a pair of sophomores back for the new campaign, which opens on Monday, Aug. 19, when the Lady Dragons hit the road.
“We’re going to open at The King’s Academy, and we’ll play another team (Knoxville Patriots) there, too,” Johnson said. “We’ve upped our schedule this year.”
TKA is a top Division II-A team, and the Patriots, a team made up of home-schooled players, play most of the area’s top teams.
Returning juniors include Lainee Carmichael (outside hitter), Josie Moody (setter/right side player), Kyleigh Gallaher (outside hitter/right side player), Macy Wandell (outside hitter/right side player), and Zaira Freeney (defensive specialist).
Top returning sophomores are middle blocker Parker McGhee and Jailie Rodd, who can set and play both defensive specialist and outside hitter.
“We have 11 freshmen who have a lot of potential,” Johnson said. “I haven’t put any of them on varsity, but I’ll probably call some up.”