H.S. STATE VOLLEYBALL: TCA has high expectations, Middleton unknown

District 15-A continued to dominate West Tennessee volleyball on the Class A level, but the look at state is a little different.

Trinity Christian Academy is no stranger reaching this level, making its sixth straight appearance with two final four finishes in those seasons. Middleton on the other had has never advanced out of district play, but the Lady Tigers are set to make more program history.

TCA (39-5) opens the tournament with a familiar foe in Knoxville Grace, a team that the Lady Lions beat in straight sets last year, on Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Blackman High School.

Middleton (16-6) opens against Summertown, who did not play in the state tournament last year, on Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Blackman.

The Lady Lions hope to build off last season.

“This will be two totally different experiences,” TCA coach Kelly Elliott said. “Last year, we had no expectations, and that can be a good thing. This year, we have been around the block once, and we know what to expect. Expectations that we go in with, we put on ourselves.”

The strength of TCA’s team comes from two seniors in setter Lauren Schmidt and outside hitter Clare Taylor, The Jackson Sun’s 2013 Hitter of the Year.

“They are such an important and central part of our team,” Elliott said. “Clare and Lauren provided the stability for our team last year.”

But the biggest difference in this team is the progression of the other seniors from last season like Katie Tillman, Mikaela Allen, Olivia Hall and Rachel Carson.

“They played their best ball at state,” Elliott said. “It seems like this year, we have built through the postseason. They are all elevating their play.

“We have six seniors that have been together since middle school, and this is one of their goals. This is their last shot.”

On the other hand, Middleton is entering the state tournament with unknown expectations. This group has been with coach Zeke Craft since he took over the program six years ago, and they know what he expects.

“I am not trying to put pressure on them,” Craft said. “When we play together, we can play as good as any team we are going to see. I have just told them that they have to step up and play well. Playing a team like TCA sets the bar high of teams that we will face.”

The Lady Tigers have two seniors in libero Sydney Russell and outside hitter Ashleigh Agee.

“We look to Sydney and Ashleigh for leadership, and they help to keep our nerves down,” Craft said. “They don’t get rattled. But we have challenged the other girls also to come out and give their best effort this week.”

After the two seniors, Middleton has two juniors and the rest are sophomores and freshmen. That means players like setter Megan Leslie, hitter Polly Dowty, hitter Kira Collier and hitter Talandra Sain are going to have to play key roles as underclassmen.

The two juniors are the two that lead the attack – Christian Woods and Jazmine Cosby.

“Christian and Jazmine have defined themselves as the go-to hitters for this team,” Craft said. “I have challenged them to be more dominant and hit at people. Jazmine is not as dominant as a hitter, so I want her to work on placing the ball around the court.”

Michael Odom, 425-9754

Class A First Round matchups

At Blackman High School

Loretto (31-12) vs. Boyd Buchanan (32-14) 9:30 a.m.

TCA (39-5) vs. Knoxville Grace (16-23), 11 a.m.

Goodpasture (28-4) vs. South Greene (36-5), 12:30 p.m.

Middleton (16-6) vs. Summertown (22-9), 2 p.m.