Cleveland got better as the match went on Monday at Cookeville, and the Lady Raiders defeated Warren County 3-1 in a Region 3-AAA volleyball semifinal.
Cookeville won 3-2 over Ooltewah.
Cleveland will play Cookeville for the title tonight at 7 EDT. Both teams move on to Thursday's state sectionals.
The Lady Raiders won by set scores of 22-25, 25-19, 25-9, 25-12.
"We served well," Cleveland coach Trish Flowers said. "Our issue was we were nervous. We played OK. We just had not been here in so long, it was such a big deal for us. We couldn't relax. It got better. I'm glad we got that one under our belt, and we had a chance to play on the same court the championship will be played on."
Emma Flowers led the Lady Raiders with eight aces, and Anna Renshaw and Regan Fuller served six apiece. Amber Morman was the kills leader with 12, Morgan Moffett had 11 and Flowers had 10. Lauren Lee had 37 digs and Renshaw had 22 assists.
Against Ooltewah, Cookeville won 25-22, 20-25, 22-25, 25-23, 16-14.
"We didn't serve aggressive enough, and then we didn't pass well enough on serve-reception during (Cookeville's comeback)," Ooltewah coach Elaine Peigen said. "It was kind of up and down for us."
In the final set, her Lady Owls came out strong to a 4-1 advantage, but the Lady Cavs battled back to tie it at 4. The set had three more ties before Cookeville started to pull ahead. The Lady Owls tied the set one final time at 14, but a kill from Grace Roberts and an ace from Kyndal Driver won the set and the match for Cookeville.
Sidney Killingsworth led the Lady Owls in kills with 21. Macy Milliken led in assists with 23, and Courtney Swafford led in digs with 26.
"They're just a totally different team than where we started," Peigen said. "They've worked hard all year."