farragutpress

Admirals bite the Dawgs

classic volleyball match between two long-time rivals

September 10, 2025 by Bill Howard

It was a classic volleyball match between two long-time rivals. The result is likely to intensify the rivalry even further.

Down two sets to none on the road at Bearden High School Thursday night, Farragut High School stormed back to win three straight sets and take the match, three to two.

After dropping the first two by scores of 25-15 and 27-25, the Lady Admirals did a near-180 turnaround for the final three, winning by scores of 25-14, 25-15, and 15-7.

FHS coach Andre Alves was unsurprisingly proud and pleased with his girls’ perseverance.

“Huge,” Alves said. “I told them I’ve been doing this for 20 years and this is probably one of my sweetest victories.”

Lady Bulldogs’ coach Kaitlyn Davidson thought her girls lost their edge with the two-set lead.

“We brought a lot of energy the first and second,” Davidson said. “We kinda got a little comfortable and the energy died down. We definitely beat ourselves tonight.”

BHS jumped to a 7-2 lead in the first set and was never threatened after that. FHS kept it close, but Bearden won six of the final seven points to close out the set.

Back-and-forth was the pattern of the second set. A 5-2 Lady Admiral run near the end of the set gave them a 22-20 lead. But the Lady ‘Dogs then won seven of the last ten points to take a two-set lead.

“The talk in the huddle after the second set was ‘we’re not walking off this court without a win,’” FHS senior setter Bella Ekeler said. “‘Whatever it takes, just do your job … whatever it takes to win, we’re gonna do it.’”

Ekeler’s exhortation must have taken hold because the Lady Admirals jumped to a quick four-point lead to start the third set. Up 13-9, FHS won eight of the next nine then cruised to an easy 25-14 win.

The teams traded points in the fourth up to a 16-14 Farragut lead. The Lady Admirals then won eight in a row – seven served by sophomore outside hitter Hope Blackiston – and closed out the set 25-15.

“We cleaned it up,” Alves said, “I changed the lineup a little bit, and we just started rolling.”

FHS continued to roll to start the do-or-die fifth set, leading seven to three. Three in a row by BHS made it seven to six, but FHS then ran off six straight to lead 13-6. They took it home from there, 15-7.

Resse Goodson led Farragut in kills with 18. Teagan Williams, Hailey Aiken and Megan Frana each had 13 digs, Ekeler was, as usual, high in assists with 41.

The win improved the Lady Admirals’ record to 6-4, 1-0 in District 4-3A. BHS fell to 3-3, 0-1.

“How they settled down to the game, cleaned up the mistakes,” Alves said. “Just competing. I’m just so, so proud of them.”