The Greeneville volleyball team took an important step on Tuesday night as it went to Chuckey-Doak and left with a 3-0 win over its District 1-AA rivals.
“I’m really proud of the girls,” Greeneville coach Sara Aiken said. “There are a lot of things that we have been working on, and its really satisfying to see them make those fixes and grow as a team. I loved their ability to be opportunistic and in this game that will build momentum for your team.”
In what is expected to be a highly competitive district this season Greeneville found itself in a hole after falling to Elizabethton last week, but Tuesday’s road win will go a long way in pulling them back to even.
After Tuesday’s action Sullivan East has the upper hand in the league at 2-0, while Greeneville, Chuckey-Doak and Elizabethton are all 1-1.
“We played a lot better than we have been. We’ve been up and down, but I think playing like this tonight takes some weight off our shoulders,” Greeneville junior Natalie Knight said. “It was really big to get this win. Coming in it felt like they thought they were going to win because they just beat South Greene, and South Greene beat us last week. I think its refreshing to come in here and sweep them, and it just feels really good right now.”
Tuesday’s first set began with Chuckey-Doak playing from in front. Isabelle Karriker scored on a kill and block to make it 8-5, and then Jacey Taylor adjusted midair to tip one around the Lady Devils for an 11-6 lead.
Kallie Dobson and Karriker put down kills from opposite posts and then Hayden Kenney got an ace to land which put Chuckey-Doak in front at 16-13.
Greeneville did not even the score until Natalie Knight beat the Lady Knights with an ace that made it 19-19.
Knight took a hard swing from the right side and split a pair of defenders for a kill that gave Greeneville its first lead since 2-1 at 24-23.
Paizlie Christian came off the bench to seal the deal for the Lady Greene Devils when she sent over a serve Chuckey-Doak could do nothing with for a 27-25 win.
“I think they established a good amount of earned confidence going into the second set,” Aiken said. “That is something we have struggled with. It was good to see them get tough and gritty and fight for it. They were fighting off an ace and fighting off kills to stay in the match. That’s good stuff.”
After stealing the first set Greeneville took their newfound momentum into the second set and took control early.
Knight came out and served three aces while Katie Johnson got a kill to fall on the way to a 6-2 lead.
Knight was the catalyst for Greeneville on Tuesday with both her serving and big swings. She finished the night with six aces, and moved around the formation to put down 12 kills.
“She’s a heavy hand. She hit .400 last night at Science Hill, and I’m so happy to see her turn this on,” Aiken said. “She has focused in for her team. She has played a lot of volleyball and it showed tonight. She became the go to for us tonight, and she was a great go to.”
Taylor broke Greeneville’s streak with a tough block and kills from Hayleigh Seidl and Karriker followed to keep Chuckey-Doak within striking distance.
The Lady Devils then began to pull away again with Allison Hayes serving. Knight slammed a pair of kills from the right side and Riley Ireland crushed one from the left side as the advantage increased to 16-6.
Taylor did her best to get the Lady Black Knight back in the set with four kills in the closing stretch, but Greeneville did enough to match her while taking advantage of Chuckey-Doak errors on the way to a 25-15 win.
Early in the third set it looked like Greeneville might run away to the win. After Johnson beat the Lady Knights with an ace the lead was 6-1.
Midway through the set Chuckey-Doak began to chip away at the lead. The gap closed to 15-12 on a play in which Taylor just kept taking big swings. Gabby Atchison blocked the first, Knight blocked the second and Hayes saved the third with a dive to the hardwood, but the fourth time was the charm for the Lady Black Knights.
Karriker tied things at 21-21 with an ace and Taylor briefly put Chuckey-Doak in front at 22-21 with a sneaky tip.
Knight sent a swing down the net from right to left to tie things at 24-24. Knight tied it again at 25-25 with another kill, and Ireland ended the night with a pair of kills that gave Greeneville a 29-27 win.
Taylor finished Tuesday with 12 kills and 17 digs for Chuckey-Doak. Chloe Kirkpatrick had 21assists and nine digs.
