Grace Nunley and Fehnly Sneed did not let a tough-as-nails regular season schedule affect their confidence in how far they believed the Soddy Daisy High School volleyball team could go in the playoffs.
In fact, matches against state powers such as Farragut, Baylor, Tennessee High, Sale Creek, Blackman and Signal Mountain, along with Alabama’s Hoover, have only helped the Lady Trojans reach their first TSSAA state tournament since 2011.
“Our tough schedule this year made us fight to be a team,” said Nunley, a senior outside hitter who wore a Minions outfit to Monday’s Halloween-themed practice. “When you are playing so many top-tier teams, you can’t be six individuals on the court. Our record doesn’t show who we are as a team at all. We have challenged ourselves and surprised a lot of people while doing it.”
Soddy Daisy (15-20) will open the Class 2A state quarterfinals against Creekwood (28-9) at 1 p.m. eastern on Tuesday at Siegel High School.
First-year head coach Paul Brock’s Lady Trojans are one of five local teams competing in Murfreesboro this week as Class 1A Sale Creek (39-7) and Class 2A Signal Mountain (22-13) will look to defend their state tournament titles, while East Hamilton (30-8) and Baylor (27-4) will also participate in the Class 3A and Division II-AA brackets.
After leading GPS to state volleyball titles in 2000, 2007 and 2008, Brock believes Soddy Daisy has championship material as well.
“The prestige of being able to play for a state championship, there is nothing like it,” Brock said. “These girls have the confidence now and believe in themselves. We put them against a very tough schedule on purpose. They have learned through their losses and stepped their game up in those as well. They are seeing the light now. To see that ray of confidence and pride in them as they go to state is awesome.”
The Lady Trojans punched their ticket to the state tournament with a thrilling 3-2 road victory over Stone Memorial in which sophomore Leah Morgan had 30 kills and 17 digs. Aubrey Renfro and Kylie Bunch combined for five aces and 30 service points while Gracie Simpson and Emma Blazek combined for 11 blocks. Farrah Hilliard and Renfro combined for 53 assists as well.
Meanwhile the sheer determination of Soddy Daisy’s lone two seniors helped seal a trip to the state tournament as Nunley had a season-high 14 kills with Sneed asserting her dominance defensively with a season-high 36 digs against Stone Memorial.
“We have shown a lot of grit and determination,” Sneed said. “We know how to push through. To make it this far is special because we have never been to state before. Our new coaching staff this year has helped us a lot. We wouldn’t be where we are without them.”
Brock knows the Lady Trojans are in good hands for the future with a roster heavy on juniors, plus promising sophomore and freshman talents. He also knows they have a chance to go even further this year with two great senior leaders on the court.
“Grace and Fehnly provide us with strong leadership on the front and back row,” the legendary volleyball coach said. “It’s like we have extra coaches on the floor. They are both aggressive in their play and have really stepped up to every challenge.”
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.