GRAY DEYOSports Writer

The Tullahoma Wildcats Volleyball team are in the midst of a pretty impressive season. They are now 8-3 on the year, and won their last two games against Shelbyville Central and Franklin County High School.

Coffee County

After picking up a two-win streak against Forrest and Moore County High School, the Tullahoma Volleyball team traveled to their rival’s campus, Coffee County. The Lady Wildcats had not lost to the Lady Red Raiders in the last three years of facing them, but in 2025, Coffee County put an end to the Wildcats’ win streak. They beat the ‘Cats in five sets, winning 3-2.

Tullahoma showed the grit they have showcased all year in this contest. They lost the opening two sets, and then went on to win the next two 25-17 and 25-22. They then unfortunately, lost the tiebreaker set 15-7.

Two of the Tullahoma players who stood out in this contest were sophomore Adalyn Nelson and senior Gabriella Dacosta. The two were the team’s kill leaders in the contest, Nelson with 11 and Dacosta with 10. They both were efficient in their attacks, also honing the highest success rate on said kill shots for Tullahoma, Dacosta with 34.5% and Nelson with 31.4%. Two more Tullahoma players that had major performances were senior Maggie Lynch and sophomore Avanley Metcalf. Metcalf recorded 37 assists, one shy of the single game school record. Lynch in the contest had 33 digs which was a new Tullahoma single game record, hopping over the previous record of 31.

Shelbyville Central

Tullahoma, like they did against CC, fell behind in their matchup against the Shelbyville Lady Golden Eagles, falling down two sets to none. The Lady Wildcats fought back as they always do, winning the next two sets, and this time winning the deciding tiebreaker fifth set 15-7.

A couple of the big players in this contest were Dacosta and sophomore Emily Bell. Dacosta was the kill leader once again for Tullahoma with 15. Her time playing the sport is certainly starting to kick in as a big advantage in 2025. She is a crafty player and knows how to generate points in a multitude of ways for Tullahoma. Bell added 10 kills in the contest, the second most on the team. On top of that, the sophomore also had three blocks in the contest.

Franklin County

Tullahoma followed up their win against Shelbyville with a strong win against Franklin County, winning 3-1. The set scores were 25-10, 19-25, 25-15, and 25-12.

The kill leader in this contest for Tullahoma was junior Gabbi Gardner, who had nine, with a 50% success rate. Lynch and Metcalf led the teams in digs with 10 apiece.

This Tullahoma team has shown in spades so far that they are much improved from the 2024 season. They will look to continue their upward trajectory next week with three games against Fayetteville, Lawrence County, and Columbia Central.