Lady Dragons begin defense of district championship tonight
Clinton setter Keagan Skaggs (7) had 14 assists during the Lady Dragons senior night game against Cumberland County last Thursday night. (photo:Tony Cox )
The Lady Dragons (32-10 overall, 12-0 district) are the top seed and will open postseason play tonight at Powell High School in the tournament semifinals. Clinton, which had a first-round bye, will face the winner of Tuesday’s Halls-Powell match. The match is set to begin at 4:30 p.m. at Jeff Hunter Gymnasium.
“Hopefully, we can win it again or at least finish in the top two so we can make it to the region,” Clinton head coach Lorri Johnson said. “We played a tough schedule and some regional teams. We played Hardin Valley, and we beat Bearden both at home and away.”
Clinton tallied 32 wins during the season but also had 10 losses.
“You learn a lot more from your losses than you do from your wins, but we had some injuries and illnesses during those 10 games,” Johnson said.
Jailie Rodd, who had been out recently due to injury, returned to the lineup last week.
“We’ve gotten Jailie back, and that will help us,” Johnson said.
Clinton won both matches last week, starting with a sweep of Knoxville Halls on Oct. 1. The Lady Dragons defeated the Lady Devils 25-10, 25-17, 25-15.
Lanee Carmichael led the attack with eight kills and three aces. Rodd contributed four kills, three aces, 10 digs and seven assists. Ellie Murrell added four kills and a block, while Macy Wandell had four kills.
Josie Moody finished with 11 assists. Parker McGhee had four blocks, and McKenzie Crisp tallied 10 digs.
The Lady Dragons closed out the regular season with a sweep of Cumberland County on Senior Night at home. Clinton won 25-18, 25-22, 25-19, avenging an earlier loss to the Lady Jets in Crossville.
Moody recorded nine kills and 13 assists, while McGhee finished with nine kills, six blocks and five aces. Murrell had six kills and a block. Rodd added nine digs, and Keagan Skaggs posted 14 assists.