A historic season for Silverdale Baptist Academy’s volleyball program culminated with a state runner-up finish Thursday at Middle Tennessee State University.
Led by senior Jada Burns’ match-high 27 kills, Middle Tennessee Christian School took home the TSSAA Division II-A title with a 3-1 victory in the best-of-five championship match by the set scores of 25-20, 22-25, 25-18 and 25-15. Burns was honored as MVP of the title match for the Lady Cougars (33-3), who earned the program’s first state championship.
Silverdale Baptist (29-9) finished the season with six more wins than the previous program record established in 2024. This was the Lady Seahawks’ first appearance at the TSSAA state tournament.
“I am so proud of these girls. Coaching them has been the biggest pleasure of my coaching career,” fourth-year Lady Seahawks head coach Geri Gearrin said. “They have become the best version of themselves and left a legacy here. They played for something bigger than themselves. They accomplished so much this year by playing together and with faith.”
Silverdale Baptist tied the set score against MTCS at 1-all as senior Camryn Neal had 11 straight kills without an attacking error while combining with freshman Emily Givens for six aces in the second-set victory.
Neal flashed her all-around skills with 20 kills, 16 digs, three assists, two blocks and as many aces in the title match. Lady Seahawks setter Caroline Hilton stood out with 50 assists — her season high — and 20 digs while adding four kills and a block, and fellow senior Faith Woods added 10 kills and a pair of blocks.
Silverdale Baptist juniors Sophie Easterday and Allison Schaeffer combined for 18 kills, freshman Kayla Meyer had three kills and a block, and Givens finished with five aces and 17 digs.
The deep run at state — where the Lady Seahawks bounced back with a pair of wins while facing elimination Wednesday after their first-round loss to MTCS on Tuesday — was the closing act for a Silverdale Baptist senior class that includes Lydia Downs and team manager Josie Attardo.
“We just wanted to give God the glory for everything this season,” said Hilton, who finished with more than 1,000 assists in her final prep volleyball campaign. “To see how we all worked together was incredible. We knew we could do this, but it took every single one of us doing what we do best.”
Meanwhile, Chattanooga School for the Arts & Sciences also concluded its best season in program history with a fourth-place finish in Class A.
CSAS (30-9) opened Thursday with a 3-0 victory over South Greene, 25-19, 25-13, 25-19, in elimination play before falling 3-0 in the consolation final to Summertown, which won 25-19, 25-22, 25-17.
Signal Mountain (30-14) finished among the top six in Class AA as the Lady Eagles’ season concluded one step short of the third-place match with a 3-1 loss in elimination play Thursday morning. Creek Wood beat Signal Mountain 26-24, 25-21, 14-25, 25-22, then swept Crockett County in the consolation final.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.