BY BRIAN HAMILTON
SEYMOUR – The King’s Academy took down Gatlinburg-Pittman on Monday evening, winning the season-opening match 2-1. The Lady Lions won the first set 25-20, then lost the second set 25-22, and took the third set 25-19 to win the first game of the tri-match.
The season opening win showed promise for a team that went 7-19 a year ago, during head coach Lauren Patterson’s first season.
“I think the biggest part was actually just building up relationships,” TKA head coach Lauren Patterson said. “There’s always been athletes (at TKA), but it was just me getting to know the girls and the girls getting to know me and what kind of coaching style they like and what kind of play they like.”
This was also the first time that Sevier County schools were able to play private schools since the 2020-21 academic year.
TKA’s Adit Kuol goes up to challenge a Gatlinburg-Pittman spike while Matazja Goins (7) looks on. Photo by Brian Hamilton
“It’s exciting for us, especially with it being a local school and we all kind of know each other,” Patterson said. “We’re all friends, so it was a good little rivalry session we had going on.”
Gatlinburg-Pittman took a an early 4-0 lead in the first set before Claire Brooks landed an ace to give TKA its first point. After a pair of kills by Lana Pannel and Lily Knight, the Lady Lions had tied the score up at 5-5.
The King’s Academy took a brief 10-9 lead before the Lady Highlanders went on a 7-1 run, capped by a kill from senior Natalie Velazquez, which gave Gatlinburg-Pittman a 16-11 advantage.
A kill by Matazja Goins pulled TKA to within 19-15, but the Lady Highlanders appeared to keep their distance as a kill by Ella Stinnett made the score 20-16.
Unfortunately, for the Gatlinburg-Pittman, that would be the last point of the match, as the Lady Lions rallied with a 9-0 run to win the first set. Goins spiked the ball into a dead spot in the GP defense to trim the deficit to 20-18 and a kill by Emily Atchley tied the set at 20-20.
The Lady Highlanders were having a difficult time getting the ball back over the net during the run, as several aces by TKA’s Brooke Burroughs increased the lead to 24-20. A volley by Porsha Wilhelm went into the Tibbets gymnasium rafters to give the Lady Lions the 25-20 win.
Gatlinburg-Pittman once again jumped out to a quick lead in the second set, taking an early 6-2 advantage. Goins pulled TKA to within 6-4 with a kill, but the Lady Highlanders managed to keep their distance, later increasing the lead to 11-8.
After leading 15-12, Gatlinburg-Pittman allowed the Lady Lions to catch up again, as a pair of kills by Adit Kuol tied the set at 18-18.
The Lady Highlanders would stretch the lead back to 21-18, but TKA would not go quietly, closing the deficit to 22-21. Lana Pannel had the ball hit off her to give Gatlinburg-Pittman a 23-21 lead. Sydney Byrd’s serve was not returned, giving GP match-point at 24-21. Miley McCoy hit the ball into the net on the next Lady Highlander serve, giving GP the 25-22 win.
The King’s Academy jumped out to an early 6-3 lead in the final and deciding set. The lead then stretched to 9-3 when Kaelei Gibson hit the ball into the net for Gatlinburg-Pittman and the Lady Lions led 12-3 before GP started to push back.
The Lady Highlanders got the lead as close as 13-9 before TKA went on a 5-0 spurt to stretch the margin to 18-9. The closest the score got from that point forward was 23-18. Adit Koul scored a kill to make the score 24-18, then Goins finished off the match with a kill, giving TKA the 25-19 win in the set and a 2-1 victory in the match.
Koul, a 6’4″ senior and member of the Lady Lions basketball team, had a big outing in her first ever volleyball contest.
“Adit is a fun one to watch and we’re excited for her too,” Patterson said. “This is her first time ever playing. She’s a basketball girl, so just watching her and the improvements she’s made in two months is unreal.”
The King’s Academy went on to take their record to 2-0 on the season later that night, as the Lady Lions bested South-Doyle in the finale of the tri-match.