District tournaments do not begin until next, but Thursday night at South Greene had a postseason-like buzz as Greeneville battled with the Lady Rebels before capturing a 3-1 win, 25-19, 26-24, 21-25, 25-17.
“We played up and down. We had some big runs, and they had some big runs,” Greeneville coach Sara Aiken said. “But this was good for us, playing teams that never say die on defense will help us out next week.”
Both teams will now turn their attention to capturing district championships next week. The Lady Greene Devils will be at Sullivan East for the District 1-AA Tournament and South Greene will be at Happy Valley for the District 1-A Tournament.
“We are going to need fight like this Tuesday, Wednesday and hopefully Thursday next week. The more we are exposed to games like this the better prepared we should be for the postseason,” Aiken said.
Thursday’s action started with Greeneville quickly taking a 5-1 lead. Brylee Tullock started the set with a kill and Emma Shelton found some space on the right side for a crafty tip that capped the run.
Emma Padgett answered with three straight slams for South Greene, but the run stopped with an error.
Whitney Reaves was able to close the gap to 9-7 when she put down a kill from the right side, and Padgett and Kortnei Bailey followed with kills, but errors prevented South Greene from further denting the lead.
Greeneville’s biggest lead came at 15-9 after Shelton dropped in a pair of aces.
Three missed swings by Greeneville and an ace from Padgett brought the Lady Rebels to within two points at 16-14.
In the closing stretch Gabby Atchison, Natalie Knight and Shelton all landed kills for Greeneville on the way to a 25-19 win.
South Greene controlled the second set most of the way, but let Greeneville sneak past at the end for a 26-24 win.
“I introduced the girls to the word tenacious, and they just would not quit in that second set,” Aiken said. “They kept digging and kept making plays. That was huge for them to make that big of a comeback.”
The teams traded points early, but South Greene created the first separation at 13-9 when Padgett smashed a pair of kills from the left side.
The lead moved to 20-15 on another slam from Padgett, but the Lady Devils would not go away.
Greeneville scored five straight points to knot things at 20-20. Tullock started the comeback with a kill from the right side, Kinley McCaslin blocked a shot, Shelton scored on a tip, Tullock added an ace before McCaslin tied things with a powerful slam from the left side.
Greeneville went in front at 23-22 when Knight took a big swing from the right side that rolled along the edge of the net before dropping past the Lady Rebels.
A first-hit kill from Bailey gave the lead back to South Greene, but a missed kill from the back row knotted things at 24-24.
Tullock then took two big swings for Greeneville and the Lady Devils stole a 26-24 win.
“It’s great to see Brylee get on top of the ball. It’s great to see her make crazy plays because she is super athletic,” Aiken said. “Then she brings a calm senior leadership. She’ll make a crazy kill and just give a soft smile, and we need that kid of steady presence.”
South Greene was undeterred and captured a 25-21 win in the third set.
South Greene took its first lead at 6-5 on a slam from Padgett, but Greeneville took it back at 7-6 when McCaslin smashed the ball into the hardwood.
Four consecutive errors gave Greeneville its biggest lead at 16-11.
This time the Lady Rebels mounted the late comeback. Padgett put down consecutive aces to put South Greene in front 21-20. A good serve by Heidey Dean and tip from Reaves made it 24-20. Reaves then ended the set with a kill from the right side.
In the fourth set Greeneville started without libero Willow Aiken, but the Lady Devils were able to get solid play from Riley Ireland and Skyler Blair in her stead as they claimed an early 8-4 lead.
“I am so proud of Riley Ireland and Skylar Blair. We preach all the time that every role matters and that you always have to be ready. You have to stay engaged on the bench, and those girls came in and killed it,” Aiken siad.
South Greene was able to rally, and after an ace by Keasley Hankins they cut the lead to 11-10. Shelton answered by scoring on a tip to break the run.
Greeneville then got a tricky dump from Allison Hayes and a slam from McCaslin as the lead grew to 17-12.
After a tough sideline dig from Brynlee Jones McCaslin pounded another one to put the Lady Devils in front 19-14.
In the closing stretch Knight killed one from the right side, Aiken had an ace, Tullock had a kill and a block, and Greeneville claimed a 25-17 win to finish the night.
The Lady Greene Devils outlasted South Greene in four close sets to earn a victory on the road. Hear from Coach Sara Aiken after Thursday’s win. pic.twitter.com/ot4l0HCP6h
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) October 3, 2025
