Summit High School is headed back to the TSSAA Class AAA state volleyball tournament.
The defending state champion Spartans beat Station Camp in four sets Thursday, Oct. 15, winning 25-23, 21-25, 25-18, 25-16 in the Class AAA sectional to punch their ticket to Murfreesboro.
Summit will open state tournament play Tuesday, Oct. 20. The opponent and game time had not been announced as of Thursday evening, according to Summit's athletics website.
The Spartans took a winding path to get there. Summit finished second in the District 10-AAA tournament and fell to Franklin in a five-set region final on Tuesday, Oct. 13, as we reported Thursday. That loss sent the Spartans to Station Camp for the do-or-die sectional.
Against the Bison, Summit dropped the second set 21-25 after taking the opener 25-23. The Spartans responded by controlling the final two sets, winning 25-18 and 25-16 to close out the match.
Coach Warne Riker's squad leaned on a deep senior class all postseason. In the region final loss to Franklin, senior Emery Estep led Summit with 20 kills and senior Everleigh DeShazo added 13, according to the Williamson Herald. Seniors Raegan Burtch, Tessa Rowe and Estep combined for 10 of the team's 13 aces in that match.
Burtch, a senior setter, transferred to Summit from Independence before this season. She recorded 647 assists leading the Independence offense last year before rejoining former middle school teammates at the Spring Hill school, the Williamson Herald reported in late August.
"There's a special target on our back because we won and everybody wants to say that we're just a 'one and done' type thing," Riker said in an August preseason interview with the Williamson Herald.
The Spartans proved otherwise. Summit won the Class AAA state title last season, edging Brentwood in a five-set thriller.
Summit's opponent and game time for the opening round in Murfreesboro had not been announced as of Thursday evening.
