CLASS AAA
Maryville and Farragut entered Thursday play in the Class AAA state volleyball tournament at Rockvale High both vying for the same goal: reaching Friday’s championship match.
Maryville, which finished runner-up to Farragut in the District 4-AAA and Region 2-AAA Tournaments, stood in a much better position than the Lady Admirals at the start of Thursday’s action.
Had the Lady Rebels beaten Nolensville (37-6) in a Thursday afternoon match, they would have advanced to Friday’s TSSAA state title match.
But Maryville fell in four sets to Nolensville: 25-21, 21-25, 26-24, 25-14. Nolensville was the 2023 state runner-up.
That loss relegated Maryville (24-17) to the final match of Thursday night, the losers bracket finale.
Would they meet Farragut there?
After staving off elimination with wins Wednesday and Thursday morning (3-0 over Collierville), the Lady Admirals advanced to the losers bracket semifinal to face 16-time state champion Brentwood.
The Lady Bruins once dominated the state, winning eight consecutive titles from 2013-2020. And though Farragut jumped to a 1-0 lead over Brentwood on Thursday night, Brentwood rallied for a 3-1 victory: 17-25, 25-22, 25-11, 25-21.
The Lady Admirals (31-7) led for a good majority of the fourth set but couldn’t hold on and force a decisive fifth frame. Nevertheless, this Farragut team got the program back up to its standard — reaching the state tournament for the first time since 2016, when they finished as runner-up for a third season in a row.
As for Maryville, they finished third in the state, dropping the nightcap in three sets to Brentwood: 25-22, 25-15, 25-20.
Brentwood will play Nolensville for the Class AAA championship on Friday. Maryville (24-18) concluded its season having made a fifth consecutive state tournament appearance.
CLASS AA
The task was a tall one for Anderson County on Thursday.
The Lady Mavs would have had to win three matches to reach Friday’s title round.
But after eliminating Gibbs on Wednesday to stay alive in Class AA play, Anderson County’s season met its end Thursday against Creek Wood in the opening match of the day at Siegel High.
Creek Wood (30-10) defeated Anderson County (27-14) in three sets: 25-18, 25-19, 25-10.
AC’s 2024 season included a district title, region title and the program’s 19th state tournament berth.