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Sports

District 3-AAA volleyball realigned

by Ken Lay

The TSSAA will begin a new classification this fall, giving District 3-AAA volleyball a major offseason makeover — and raising the stakes in some familiar rivalries.

The restructured district now includes Anderson County, Clinton, Oak Ridge, Halls, Powell, Gibbs, Knox Central and Campbell County.

Each team will face the others twice in the regular season, and Anderson County will host the district tournament.

Anderson County and Gibbs both move up to Class AAA after reaching the Class AA state tournament in 2024.

Clinton is the two-time defending District 3-AAA tournament champion.

As part of the reclassification, longtime member Karns moved to District 4-AAA, while Heritage joined District 2-AAA and Region 1-AAA.

“Anderson County will be in our district this year, and that’s going to be different,” Clinton Coach Lorri Johnson said. “They brought Gibbs in, too. Karns moved over, Heritage moved up there with the Morristown schools, and Oak Ridge is still with us.

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Lady Mavericks prep for new district, new challenges

by Ken Lay


Bethany Lowe, a rising junior, is one of several players who gained meaningful game experience during the successful 2024 Mavericks volleyball season.
The TSSAA-mandated dead period has arrived. It began Monday and will conclude on July 7.

High school athletes and coaches will take a two-week break from team activities, and once they return, the fall sports season will be just a few weeks away as preparations resume in earnest.

When the Anderson County High School volleyball team — which reached the Class AA state tournament semifinals in 2024 — entered the dead period, longtime Coach Jayme Smith said she was pleased with her squad’s offseason workouts, even though her contact with players had been limited.

“I haven’t really seen my team in about a week,” Smith said last week. “But I think we’re doing pretty well. We have a lot of our girls who are playing travel volleyball this summer.

“We’re doing something a little different this year,” she said. “The girls have been working on their own. We’re not working out together as a team at CrossFit this year.”

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Clinton volleyball reloads, ready to defend district crown

by Ken Lay


Josie Moody, a rising senior, is poised to have a banner year for the Lady Dragons volleyball team. Moody reached 1,000 assists at the start of the 2024 season.
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.”

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Coal Creek rolls into break with 6-game win streak

by Ken Lay

The Coal Creek 18U baseball team will take a two-week hiatus before returning to the diamond for its postseason tournament.

The team enters the break on a six-game winning streak.

Coal Creek, along with other summer baseball squads, is observing the TSSAA-mandated dead period, which began Monday. Teams may resume activities on July 7.

Coal Creek (6-3) went into the break on a high note, sweeping the Graveston Freebirds in a Thursday night doubleheader at Anderson County High School.

The Corryton-based Freebirds fell 7-1 in the opener and 18-8 in the nightcap.

In Game 1, Coal Creek scored seven runs despite notching just one hit. Blake Lowe went 1-for-2 with a single, a run, an RBI and a stolen base. The team drew 11 walks and capitalized on two Freebird errors.

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Oak Ridge hires veteran coach Kevin Tubbs

by Ken Lay


Kevin Tubbs
When Kevin Tubbs learned the Oak Ridge High School girls basketball coaching position was open, he knew he had to apply.

“Oak Ridge has a great program,” Tubbs said. “Even if you’re from Alabama, you know about them.

“When this job came open, it came open late, but I knew I had to apply. Oak Ridge is a great school, both academically and athletically.

“The athletic program is first-class, and (athletic director Joe) Gaddis is a winner,” Tubbs said. “They’ve had success in baseball, football and basketball. It’s just a great school. That’s why I applied, and that’s why I came here.”

Tubbs has done plenty of winning of his own on the basketball court.

He arrives at ORHS with 278 wins as a high school coach. He led Homewood High School to an Alabama Class 6A state championship in 2017. Tubbs also coached at Mountain Brook High School in Alabama.

He was tapped to replace Paige Taylor, who resigned following the 2024-25 season after a decade with the Lady Wildcats.

Tubbs knows he has big shoes to fill. Taylor guided Oak Ridge to 10 consecutive district championships.

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