Dyer County draws Upperman in first round of state

 

Jason Peevyhouse

Editor, JP Productions Sports

For the fifth time since joining Class AA ahead of the 2021 season, Dyer County will compete in the TSSAA Class AA State Tournament as the Choctaws will face Upperman in the quarterfinals on Tuesday evening at Rockvale High School in Murfreesboro.

While Dyer County Head Coach Shanna O’Bright and her staff and players have seen film on the Lady Bees, the Choctaws’ skipper is trying to keep her focus somewhere much closer to home.

Upperman reached the state tournament by defeating Murfreesboro Central in the Region 4AA Championship then dispatching Meigs County in the sectional round. It’s the Lady Bees second trip to Murfreesboro since 2023 and third overall in the school’s history.

“At this point, I am more focused on our side of the net than the opposing side of the net and making sure that we’re playing to the best of our ability,” O’Bright revealed. “And, making sure the things that we do, we do effectively.

“And that we’re ready for whatever opponent that we come across.”

Since clinching their spot in the state tournament with a three-set sweep of Millington on Thursday, the Choctaws have been in the gym working on their game and preparing for this year’s bracket.

“The girls are hungry and the girls are excited,” the Choctaw head coach explained. “They’re ready and they’re prepared.

“Now they just have to be the best team that day.”

Though the Choctaws have been to the last four state tournaments in Class AA before this one, this year’s bracket is different. In the past, it has taken a team no less than four games to win a state championship. A team moving through the bracket without a loss would need four wins to take home the top prize. A team that loses in the semifinals or before that could need as many as five to bring home the championship.

This year is different as it will take just three wins in the winner’s bracket to take home the state championship. And, once a team loses in the winner’s bracket, there is no returning and the team will go to the consolation bracket where the best it can hope for is third place in the state.

O’Bright shared what she told her players about this.

“Our season is going to end one way or another this week,” O’Bright explained. “And, we might as well go out with all guns blazing.

“Don’t hold anything back and go play. You can’t worry about elimination and you can’t worry about any of that stuff. You can only focus on what you can control. We have to control the controllable.

“We have to be able to do the things that we do very well effectively on Tuesday. That’s all that anyone can ask of them.”

The Choctaws were one win away from bringing home the first state championship in team female sports history at Dyer County. After finishing as the state runner-up in 2024, the orange and white look to take the final step to bring home the biggest trophy in the state for volleyball.

“We’ve been talking about it off and on,” O’Bright admitted. “It’s come up in conversations since June.

“Every once in a while, we’ll bring it up and how badly they want to get back to that game. And how badly they want a different outcome. They’ve put the work in and they’re as prepared as I can make them. They have to take it from here.”

The first step towards all of that will be taken at 5 p.m. on Tuesday when the Choctaws face Upperman in the Class AA Quarterfinals at Rockvale High School in Murfreesboro.

Here’s a quick look at the rest of the Class AA field and how they got there.

Valor Prep Wildcats (27-3) – The defending Class AA State Champions did not lose a set in the three games encompassing the Region 5AA Tournament and sectional round. Sweeps of Westmoreland and Hume-Fogg earned the Wildcats the region championship before Valor swept Lexington in sectional action. Valor has made the tournament in each of the last three seasons.

Signal Mountain Eagles (29-12) – The District 6AA Champions defeated McMinn Central and Meigs County en route to the Region 3AA Title. The Eagles then defeated Murfreesboro Central 3-1 to punch their ticket to state for the sixth straight season and 13^th time overall.

Crockett County Cavaliers (30-9) – District 13AA and Region 7AA’s runner-up defeated Lakeland Prep in the region semifinals before falling to Dyer County. The Cavaliers then defeated Millington in straight sets to earn their third straight trip to the state tournament and fifth since 2019 (11^th overall).

Sullivan East Patriots – The District 1AA and Region 1AA Champions defeated Grainger and Chuckey-Doak in the region tournament to take the championship. The Patriots then defeated Alcoa in three sets in sectional action to earn their first appearance since 2021 and seventh overall).

Creek Wood Red Hawks (33-9) – Creek Wood won District 11AA then defeated Chester County and Lexington to win Region 6AA. The Red Hawks swept Hume-Fogg in the sectional round to punch their ticket to the state tournament for the fourth straight season. Creek Wood finished in third place during last year’s state tournament.

Chuckey-Doak Black Knights (20-7) – Chuckey-Doak finished as the runner-up to Sullivan East in both District 1AA and Region 1AA. The Black Knights swept Seymour in the sectional round to earn their state tournament appearance in school history.

The TSSAA Class AA Championship Game will be played Friday at 4 p.m. at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro. All other rounds and games will be played at Rockvale High School.

Coverage of this story is brought to you by: