MURFREESBORO – The Chuckey-Doak volleyball team showed that it can play with anybody in Class AA on Tuesday afternoon, but in the program’s first ever state tournament game the Lady Black Knight could not get past Creek Wood.
In the Class AA State Tournament quarterfinals at Rockvale High School the Lady Black Knights fell 3-1 (25-22, 23-35, 25-19, 25-18).
“I’m a disappointed in a loss, you want to win every game, but I am extremely proud that these girls gave it everything they had. We knew what kind of level of play we would see, and it was hard for us to answer every ball they put over the net. We held our own, even through our little ruts. These girls stayed in it to the very last point, and they showed that they wanted this.”
Chuckey-Doak’s chances of winning a state championship are now over, but the Lady Knights’ season continues, and they will be back in action on Wednesday in the third-place bracket.
Chuckey-Doak will take on Upperman at Rockvale High School in Murfreesboro at 5 p.m. central time. Upperman lost to Dyer Co 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-19) on Tuesday in its state tournament opener.
“Even though we are not playing for a state championship anymore, I’m still extremely proud of what these girls have accomplished,” Snapp said. “We still have more games in front of us, and we have to come back ready to play tomorrow.”
Too often on Tuesday the Lady Black Knights could not get out of their own way, and in the first set they traded good swings with misses as they let Creek Wood open up an 8-5 lead.
Belle Karriker was quick to even things out at 8-8 with a block and a kill from the middle. Jacey Taylor then went on a run that included three kills and block to knot things at 12-12.
Chuckey-Doak went in front 16-14 when Taylor landed a kill from the back row, and after a slam from Karriker the Lady Black Knights led 19-16.
At that point errors started to mount before Creek Wood tied things at 22-22 on a right-side slam from Abigail Baker. From there errors doomed the Lady Knights and Creek Wood started the day with a 25-22 win.
“We have to be more consistent, and we can’t have those unforced errors tomorrow,” Snapp said. “When you are at this level everybody is good. It comes down to who makes the fewest mistakes. How quick you come back from mistakes makes a big difference at this stage.”
In the second set Chuckey-Doak jumped in front first at 5-2 after Taylor slammed one from the left side and Addy Pruitt came up with an ace.
A missed kill and a double hit allowed Creek Wood to tie it at 6-6, but then Chuckey-Doak began to open the game up. Jayden Myers got the run started with an ace and Carlene Bishop finished it with a kill as the Lady Knights took a commanding 13-6 lead.
Creek Wood again fought back and when Lacey Batey got a pair of aces to fall the Lady Red Hawks evened the score at 17-17. Two more good serves by Batey made it 19-17.
Myers breathed some life into Chuckey-Doak’s side of the court with consecutive slams from the middle. Karriker then made it 22-21 with a menacing swing.
In the closing stretch Karriker scored on a pair of blocks and Taylor finished the 25-23 Chuckey-Doak win with a kill from the left side.
In the third set Chuckey-Doak again took command early and after a quick spurt in which Bishop put down two kills and Taylor beat the defense with two aces the Lady Black Knights were in front 12-6.
Chuckey-Doak’s lead reached 17-13 after Macy Church sent over a serve Creek Wood could not return and Karriker stuffed Lady Hawks’ swing from the middle.
Creek Wood responded with a kills from Avery Bratton, Baker and Emma Macchiaverna to pull within one. The Lady Knights then pushed a free ball into the net to even the score at 17-17.
A missed kill and a foot fault gave the lead to Creek Wood at 19-18 and Chuckey-Doak could not get in front again in the 25-19 loss.
In the fourth set Chuckey-Doak never found its footing and found itself in a 10-5 hole at the outset.
The Lady Knights did cut the lead to 10-8 after Bishop scored on a kill, Myers landed an ace and Karriker added a block. Three Lady Black Knights’ errors opened things up again and then Karleigh Stevenson pushed the advantage to 16-9 with a pair of aces.
A dump by Chloe Kirkpatrick and an ace by Pruitt cut Creek Wood’s lead to 20-16, but that was as close as Chuckey-Doak would get in the 25-18 loss.
Creek Wood is now one of the final four teams in Class AA for the fourth year in a row. The Lady Red Hawks will meet Dyer County on Wednesday at noon in the state semifinals.
Chuckey-Doak volleyball competed in the State Tournament for the first time ever today and fought valiantly, but was on the other end of the scoreboard and suffered a 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 19-25, 18-25) loss to Creek Wood. Hear Coach Marissa Snapp’s thoughts and expressions. pic.twitter.com/8OuV15ZHik
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) October 21, 2025
