Posted on October 10, 2017.
By Thomas Sellers Jr.
The biggest news on the campus of Millington Central High School last Friday morning was the 2017 District 15-2A Volleyball Tournament plaque being put on display in the lobby.
The previous night Whitney Horton’s Lady Trojans defeated the Ripley Lady Tigers in the Ripley Gymnasium in four sets. Horton expressed gratitude to her players and coaches for the achievement. But the first-year head coach gave a special token of thanks to the Millington Trojan Football team, local business leaders like Jack Leonard and devoted Lady Trojan fans.
“Like I said this morning I put an announcement on the intercom, ‘None of this would be possible without you,’” Horton said. “I can’t thank them enough for coming out and showing their Trojan Pride. Definitely making an away game a home game for us.”
The Lady Tigers were the host of the 2017 district tournament and earned a spot in the finals Tuesday night winning their semifinal game. The No. 1 seeded Lady Trojans easily won in three sets that night to set up the showdown with host Ripley.
The Lady Trojans witnessed how the Lady Tiger faithful came out in large numbers semifinal night giving their team an extra boost.
Word got out in Millington and the Trojan Football coaches organized a bus and caravan to head up Highway 51 for the title game. The Lady Trojan fans showed up and showed out in helping their team pull out the championship victory.
The extra support from the Black and Gold Nation helped the Lady Trojans continued their hot streak against the district. Millington earned the regular-season title only losing once in league play.
The Lady Trojans only suffered one defeat in a set during the district tournament. Horton was named District 15-2A Coach of the Year.
“It’s different but it has a nice ring to it,” Horton acknowledged. “The kids deserved what they got last night. I couldn’t be more proud of the accomplishment. But we have a lot more things to prove this season. So I look forward to the road ahead.”
Lady Trojan senior standout and Bethel University signee Addison Coulter earned Tournament MVP. Joining her on the All-Tournament team from Millington were Ally Morona and TZ House.
All-District regular-season honors went to Paige Hall, Lily Morton, Hannah Clifton and Coulter. Hall’s all-around outstanding play earned her regular-season MVP.
The Regional Tournament was played in Millington Monday night in the William Osteen Gymnasium. Millington took on Raleigh-Egypt in their Regional Semifinal. Meanwhile Ripley played Martin Luther King Prep in the other Semifinal. Both Millington and Ripley won reserving both teams a spot in Thursday night’s Sectionals. Winners of those Sub-State games will earn a spot in the Class 2A State Volleyball Tournament next week in Murfreesboro. For more information on the Sectional game, visit www.millington-news.com or call 873-8100.
