Clinton volleyball reloads, ready to defend district crown
When Clinton High School’s volleyball team entered the TSSAA-mandated dead period, Coach Lorri Johnson had some advice for her players.
“I told the players that if they didn’t work on their own, they were going to fall two weeks behind,” Johnson said. “I told them that if they went on vacation, they had better take their weights with them.”
The Lady Dragons are the two-time defending District 3-AAA tournament champions, and off-season conditioning is a big reason for Clinton’s success since Johnson took the reins of the program.
“We’ve been training and conditioning,” she said. “I try to make June optional because we have some girls who play basketball, and they did that.”
The Lady Dragons recently traveled to Kentucky for a team camp that included tournament competition.
“We went to Kentucky and saw some good teams and good competition,” Johnson said. “Wayne County has a really good team up there. We didn’t have any easy games, and that’s what you want.
“We won some games and we lost some games, but we were able to find out where we’re at and what we have.”
Two Clinton players are also competing in national club tournaments during the dead period.
After the two-week break ends on July 7, the Lady Dragons will ramp up preparations in their quest for another district title. But this season will bring new challenges.
The TSSAA has realigned athletic districts, and District 3-AAA has a fresh look in 2025. Karns departed, while Clinton’s crosstown rival Anderson County joined the league, along with Gibbs.
Both Anderson County and Gibbs reached the Class AA state tournament last season. The Lady Mavericks advanced to the semifinals after ending the season for Gibbs.
“It should be an interesting year,” Johnson said. “Anderson County is going to be in our district, so that will be a little different. Oak Ridge is still with us, and Gibbs comes in.
“Karns moved over to (District 4), and Heritage moved (from District 4) and will be (in District 2) with the Morristown schools.”
Returning members of District 3-AAA include Powell, Knoxville Halls, Knoxville Central and Campbell County.
Powell shocked the volleyball scene by reaching the district championship in 2023. Halls and Powell have both made notable progress under their young coaching staffs, including Halls Coach Susan Davidson.
“Halls and Powell have young coaches, and they’ve done good things with their programs,” Johnson said.
Clinton returns a talented core, including five seniors.
They’ll be joined by what Johnson calls one of the best incoming freshman classes in recent memory.
“We have five seniors, and this is the most-talented freshman class coming in from the middle school since our seniors were freshmen,” she said.
“So we’ll have a really good mix—a good mix of younger and older players.”
