In a high-energy, high-intensity and high-stakes match on Tuesday night South Greene was able to shake off a rocky start to claim its eighth straight Region 1-A championship.
The Lady Rebels took down West Greene 3-1 (18-25, 25-16, 25-20, 28-26) in Tuesday night’s title game after both teams made easy work of their District 2-A foes in the semifinals.
“We had to play up tempo and intense from start to finish,” South Greene coach Stephen Gregg said. “Everybody in the gym knew what to expect with two good teams going at each other. We knew this wasn’t going to be easy, West Greene was not going to go away without a fight. I couldn’t be proud of my team right now, who wouldn’t want to coach these girls?!”
South Greene has now won 16 region championships in the last 17 seasons and will be looking to advance to the state tournament for the 17th consecutive year.
“We didn’t have a great start to this season. We’ve been through 10 different lineups. There has been some agony and pain along the way, but these girls went along with all of those changes,” Gregg said. “This is my 16th year and we have earned that home sectional game 15 times now. It’s a great accomplishment for our school and community to win another region championship. It was a packed house tonight, West Greene brought a big crowd, and it has become a big deal to beat South Greene.”
Both South Greene and West Greene advance to Thursday’s Class A State Sectionals, but the Lady Rebels will get one more home game against the Region 2-A runner up Chattanooga School of Liberal Arts. West Greene will hit the road and face the Region 2-A champion Chattanooga School For Arts and Science looking to advance to the state tournament for the first time since 2000.
“I was tired in that fourth set, I’m not going to lie, but I just kept asking the team, ‘How bad do you want it? How Bad do you not want to go to Chattanooga Thursday? How bad do you want another home game?’ We had to want it more.” South Greene senior Kortnei Bailey said. “It’s always good to have another home game in front of our crowd. Now we just have to put the pedal to metal and keep it there.”
Despite how the night finished West Greene got off to a hot start on Tuesday and jumped in front 6-0 in the first set behind two aces from Baylee Lowe.
Kortnei Bailey got the Lady Rebels going with a kill, and then Emma Padgett landed three hard swings as the Lady Buffaloes’ lead shrank to 8-7.
West Greene’s Aleea Aiken dropped a pair of aces between the Lady Rebels defense to grow the lead back to 14-9.
Cassidy Hill slammed one from the middle to give West Greene its biggest lead at 20-12. Two more kills by Hill matched the advantage at 22-14, and then Journey Lamons finished out the 25-18 West Greene win with two more big swings from the left side.
West Greene took the first lead of the second set at 3-1, but then Padgett found a new level of energy from the left side for South Greene as she blasted five kills into the hardwood on the way to an 8-3 lead.
Padgett’s heavy hand was a difference maker on Tuesday, and for her effort the Freshman was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
“It felt really good to be named MVP,” Padgett said. “My teammates have really pushed me this year and I can’t take all of the credit. Everyone is a part of this. I moved here from Minnesota and all of these girls have been so amazing in making me feel a part of this team. I was so nervous the first time I walked in the door, but they welcomed me in and it’s been great.”
West Greene was able to close the gap to 9-8 on a right-side swing from Aiken.
But South Greene extended its lead again, and after a stretch where Bailey came up with a tough block, Whitney Reaves dropped and ace short and then Bailey slammed one from the left side the Lady Rebels were up 18-13.
In the closing stretch Keasley Hankins scored on a pair of aces and Ella Bailey dove into the bench for a momentum-lifting free ball as South Greene took a 25-16 win that evened the match at 1-1.
“It all starts with the back line. They are kind of like that offensive line in football, they don’t get any credit, but every play starts with them,” Gregg said. “Between sets I had to pull that group aside and remind them that we have to have better passes. We were lunging at too many balls. But once we started moving our feet we became the better passing team.”
The third set started tight, but South Greene was able to grab a 5-3 lead behind four kills from Padgett.
The Lady Rebels found a little breathing room at 12-8 after Bailey came up with a block and Heidy Dean landed an ace.
Two kills from Hill and a lift call that went against the Lady Rebels evened things at 14-14, but then three straight errors killed West Greene’s momentum.
South Greene followed with two kills from Padgett and one from Reaves while Bailey Ricker served as the lead grew to 20-15.
Bailey finished out the 25-20 South Greene win with two kills and a tip.
The fourth set was a back-and-forth battle in which every point was hotly contested.
South Greene gained the advantage first at 9-6 when Reaves tipped one past the block. It was short lived and when Hill ended a long volley with a right-side slam things were tied at 10-10.
Addy Peters sent a first hit back with a well placed tip to put West Greene on top 17-14.
South Greene was able to tie things again at 19-19 when Bailey powered down a massive swing from the left side.
The set was tied three more times before South Greene thought it had a 25-23 win on a big swing from Bailey. Amid celebration confusion ensued, the score was wiped away and a yellow card was handed to Gregg.
The match went on and was again tied three more times to 26-26. South Greene’s Bailey kept swinging and bounced one off the Lady Buffs’ block for a 27-26 lead. An error by West Greene ended the night with South Greene eking out a 28-26 win.
In Tuesday’s semifinal contest South Greene beat Eagleton 3-0 (25-22, 25-10, 25-14), and West Greene beat Washburn 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-17).
Region 1A All-Tournament
Kaylee Loud, Eagleton
Abigail Epperson, Washburn
Addy Peters, West Greene
Baylee Lowe, West Greene
Journey Lamons, West Greene
Cassidy Hill, West Greene
Kortnei Bailey, South Greene
Heidey Dean, South Greene
Keasley Hankins, South Greene
Whitney Reaves, South Greene
MVP – Emma Padgett, South Greene
South Greene’s dominance in the Region 1-1A Tournament continued on Tuesday night with the Lady Rebels claiming another piece of hardware in a 3-1 championship win over rival West Greene. Hear how Coach Stephen Gregg felt after the win. pic.twitter.com/YbZDjys4lx
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) October 15, 2025
South Greene freshman Emma Padgett described the feeling of winning Region 1-A Tournament MVP and winning a Region Championship in her first year with the Lady Rebels. pic.twitter.com/uoRO9y3dIi
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) October 15, 2025
South Greene senior Kortnei Bailey (@bailey_kortnei) described how it feels to once again be Region Champs and what it took to overcome an early deficit and earn one more home game in Thursday’s sectional round. pic.twitter.com/RuRVRE8LY5
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) October 15, 2025
Last night, South Greene and West Greene faced off in a match that saw South Greene take home the Region 1A Championship. While South Greene took the title, West Greene also had a strong showing, and both teams advance to represent Greene County at Sectionals. #FirstHorizon pic.twitter.com/6HO0rGzZFz
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) October 15, 2025
South Greene defeats West Greene, 3-1, to add a Region 1A Title to their list of accomplishments this year.
Both teams will progress to the sectional round on Thursday Night. #FirstHorizon pic.twitter.com/ad5UzaJVnD
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) October 15, 2025
