MURFREESBORO – The Chuckey-Doak volleyball team made history once again on Wednesday afternoon by winning at the state tournament for the first time ever.
The Lady Black Knights started fast at Rockvale High School in Murfreesboro and got by Upperman with a 3-1 victory 3-1 (25-18, 25-23, 20-25, 25-12) in the Class AA State Tournament.
“I am feeling a lot of excitement right now, and I’m very thankful our season is still alive,” Chuckey-Doak coach Marissa Snapp said. “I feel so blessed to coach these girls and to have the support we have here and back at home. It is so special to get this win here, and to get it with these girls. It feels so special to make history with such a great group of girls.”
In the state tournament for the first time in program history Chuckey-Doak was eliminated from the championship bracket on Tuesday, but is still in contention for third place. It will be in action again on Thursday at 12 p.m. central time against Crockett County. If Chuckey-Doak were to defeat Crockett County the third-place game will be held at 5 p.m. on Thursday.
“I asked these girls to bring the unforced errors down today and they did a great job of that,” Snapp said. “Tomorrow we have to get those even lower. We have to learn from every point and get better as the match goes on. We’ll go look at the film tonight and figure out how to play harder and better tomorrow.”
The Lady Black Knights took command of Wednesday’s action from the outset and jumped in front 8-0 in the first set. Belle Karriker was the difference maker in that opening run as she scored on three blocks and added a kill.
“It was necessary to start fast today. We needed to establish the energy and set the tone,” Snapp said. “Belle getting her hands on stuff early was a huge setback for them. They are used to landing big kills and we knew we had to press them. These girls answered, they did so good.”
Emma Pruitt finally found some success for the Lady Bees with two right-side swings, but Chuckey-Doak kept pace with another kill from Karriker and a second-hit dump from Chloe Kirkpatrick.
Three missed kill attempts in a row and a block by Bailey West led to Upperman closing the gap to 13-9.
The teams then traded missed swings before Chuckey-Doak began to separate again. Addy Pruitt found an open spot in the back right corner to land a kill, and then Jacey Taylor blasted one down the left line for a 20-12 lead.
Taylor added one more kill in the closing stretch and Karriker appropriately ended the 25-18 win with a block.
“Jayden (Myers) served so well there at the start and that carried us through the rest of that set,” Greeneville senior Cristen Bishop said. “It was so important to start fast and that kept our spirits up the rest of the way. Our defense killed it today, Macy and Jacey were great beside me today, and our hitters were great too.”
In the second set the Lady Bees took control first and after Presley Hickman landed a kill and Emma Pruitt got a tip and a kill to fall Upperman led 8-5.
Hickman then missed on a pair of swings before Macy Church came up with an ace for Chuckey-Doak. Pruitt used a soft touch to beat the block and give Chuckey-Doak a 9-8 lead.
From there the set was tied seven times until two kills from Hickman gave Upperman some breathing room at 21-18.
A kill from the middle by Isabella Tidwell put Upperman in front 23-20 and forced Snapp to call a timeout.
Out of the stoppage the Lady Black Knights scored the final five points to steal a 25-23 win. Jayden Myers started the comeback with consecutive kills, before Taylor skillfully maneuvered a tip around West’s block attempt. The set ended on an ace by Addy Pruitt.
“That took a lot of focus and a lot of intentional volleyball,” Snapp said. “It can be easy to play scared in that situation, but they knew what was on the line and they went out and executed.”
In the third set the teams traded points for most of the way, but Hickman broke a long volley with a left-side slam to put the Lady Bees in front 17-16.
Tidwell followed with a block and Hickman then put down another kill to push the advantage to 21-16.
Upperman finished out the 25-20 win with a kill from Josie Bush and a block by West.
Early in the fourth set Upperman used two kills from Emma Pruitt to take a 4-3 lead, but then the Lady Knights took control.
A pair of aces from Myers pushed Chuckey-Doak in front 7-4. Taylor then got a tip to land for a 10-6 lead.
The Lady Black Knights got a kill from Taylor, a tip from Myers and big block from Myers to stretch the advantage to 14-7.
Chuckey-Doak never let up and in the closing stretch Karriker scored on a block and a kill. Hayleigh Seidl beat the defense with a tip and Kirkpatrick came up with a tricky dump. At the same time back line players Cristen Bishop, Church and Taylor didn’t let the Lady Bees attack have anything as Chuckey-Doak pulled away to a 25-12 win.
“It’s so special as a senior to get the first win at the state tournament,” Bishop said. “We just have to bring that same energy tomorrow. We have to try to play from in front again, and just keep pushing.”
Chuckey-Doak defeated Upperman on Wednesday to pick up the program’s first-ever win at the State Tournament!! Hear what Coach Marissa Snapp had to say and how proud she was of the historic win by the Lady Black Knights. pic.twitter.com/L0eIwyyUt0
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) October 23, 2025
Chuckey-Doak’s senior Cristen Bishop described the feeling of helping bring Chuckey-Doak their first State Tournament win in program history and which players helped deliver that historic win to the Lady Knights program. pic.twitter.com/erRKhLUzxg
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) October 23, 2025
