Chuckey Doak hosted league-leading Sullivan East Thursday evening to conclude a long and intense week of volleyball action. The Lady Knights, now 3-4 in conference play, fell 3-1 and sit in a three-way tie with Elizabethton and Greeneville with two weeks remaining in the regular season.
“Tonight was a mental game and a tough loss, but there’s a lot to take away from it and also a lot to be proud of,” said head coach Marissa Snapp. “It has been a really exhausting week playing three extremely hard games, and our gym was really hot tonight, so it took a big toll on their bodies. But as we’ve said all season, we have to prepare ourselves for the end of the year when we are playing night after night after night.”
Sullivan East opened the first set by jumping out to a 2-0 lead before Chuckey Doak broke serve and tied the set at 2-2. From there, the two teams battled back and forth, with neither able to build more than a two-point advantage until the Lady Patriots pulled ahead 8-4.
The Lady Knights slowly worked their way back into the set, and it appeared they had gained some needed momentum when an ace from Jacey Taylor tied the score at 10-10 and a kill from Jayden Myers put Chuckey Doak ahead 12-10.
The Lady Knights scored the next two points coming out of a timeout to extend their lead to 14-10, but Sullivan East responded by scoring the next six points to regain the advantage at 16-14.
Chuckey Doak tied the score at 18-18, but the Lady Patriots closed the set strong to take a 25-20 victory.
The Lady Knights came out in the second set and jumped to a 3-0 lead, only to see Sullivan East quickly rally to tie the score at 3-3.
The teams continued to trade points over the next several rotations before the league-leading Patriots began to pull away, taking a 16-12 lead and forcing a Chuckey Doak timeout. The stoppage did little to slow Sullivan East, however, as the Patriots extended their advantage to 20-13 before closing out the set 25-19 to take a 2-0 lead.
Chuckey Doak refused to fold, responding with a strong third-set performance to keep the match alive. The Lady Knights took the set 25-16 behind a pair of kills from Isabelle Karriker and aces from Kallie Dobson and Jessie Dayton.
Coach Snapp was pleased with the grit and determination her team showed in the third set.
“It was great because it showed how much perseverance they have and how much they are capable of. It showed how much heart they have. They love each other and they love the sport. They are truly out there for each other.”
The fourth set followed the same competitive pattern as the first three, with neither team able to gain a decisive advantage. The teams battled through five ties, with the final one coming at 15-15.
From there, the Lady Patriots began to pull away and eventually closed out the match with a 25-20 fourth-set victory.
Chuckey Doak will travel to Rebel Hill Monday to face South Greene before returning home Tuesday for another conference matchup with Elizabethton.
