By Michael Lindsay
The Livingston Academy Lady Wildcats are District 8AA volleyball champions following their 5-set victory over Upperman in Tuesday’s title game in Crossville.
“It feels pretty good,” said Livingston head coach Christie Jenkins. “We’ve been beat by them twice this year. Every time we’ve been ahead but couldn’t finish. Tonight, we finished and I’m so proud of them.”
Upperman swept Livingston in the regular season and also defeated them in the 2021 district championship.
“They’re an amazing team, but so are we,” Jenkins said. “I’m proud of my kids.”
The entire District 8AA tournament was played Tuesday evening at Cumberland County High School. Earlier in the day, Upperman swept Cumberland County and Livingston Academy swept Stone Memorial, setting up their championship showdown.
Upperman took the first set of the championship game over LA with ease, 25-14.
“You practice yesterday, and all your focus is on that first game because you want to make the region tournament,” Jenkins said. “I’m sure we were a little bit tired, and I’m sure they were a little fired up because of the rivalry between the two.”
The Lady Bees shot out to a quick 5-1 lead in the second set before a Livingston timeout stopped the bleeding. After a back-and-forth second set, Livingston Academy prevailed 25-22 to tie the contest at 1-1.
“Even after that first loss, we didn’t get down,” Jenkins added.
The third set saw Upperman rebound and pull away with a 25-18 victory to go up 2-1.
With their backs against the wall, Livingston Academy responded with a dominant fourth set to win 25-12.
The winner-take-all fifth set to 15 saw Livingston jump out to a quick 9-5 lead before Upperman closed the gap at 9-8.
Livingston Academy took control from there to go up 14-9.
With the Lady Wildcats one point away from a championship, LA sophomore Mallie Carwile’s serve made it over the net, setting up the Bees’ hit that was blocked at the net by district tournament MVP Aleah Melton, giving Livingston the 15-9 game-5 win.
“She’s always amazing; ever since she was a freshman I’ve known how special she was,” Jenkins said of Melton. “I’m so proud of her. We’ve had ups and downs this year, and she’s had to be the leader. She’s had a lot of pressure on her shoulders, and she’s stood up and I’m so proud of her.”
“I was really determined and had revenge in the back of my mind,” Melton said.
When Melton’s game-winning blocked shot hit the floor, she was overwhelmed by emotion.
“Relief and pride,” she said. “I’m so proud of our team. We have so much potential and we’re finally living up to it.”
For Upperman, the loss is a setback, but not the end of their season.
“We’re not done yet,” said Upperman head coach Barbie Cook. “Losses like this humble us to get us ready for other games in the future. They battled, and we worked this week. Livingston is a team that battles, and we knew that we would come head-to-head. We’re looking forward to what’s coming up next and are already prepping for this week.
“To have the season we’ve had and to battle what we’ve battled, to make everything work, they have risen above,” she added. “We have to learn to finish, and that’s a big battle we have right now.”
Both Livingston Academy and Upperman have advanced to the Region 4AA tournament held at Livingston Academy. Dates and opponents will be shared when available.
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LA coach Christie Jenkins and tourney MVP Aleah Melton speak following their team’s championship victory:
