Tallulah Falls overcomes odds, rallies to reach State Championship match

Tallulah Falls rallied from being down 2-1 to the top-seed in the tournament, securing a historic 3-2 win over The King's Academy at Shorter University. The Final Four victory clinched a spot in the GIAA State Championship match, taking place Saturday at 6 PM.

TFS (27-8) was down 2-1 and stormed back to shock the #1-ranked Lady Knights. The teams had squared off twice this season, with both teams claiming a win heading into this one. The Lady Indians return to the State Championship for the second time, with their 2022 team winning it all just three years ago.

Set One: L 13-25

The King's Academy ran out to a 7-1 lead early, forcing a TFS timeout. Sofia Livianos had a monster spike that brought Tallulah back to within 9-6. After top-seeded King's Academy again pulled ahead 20-10, the Lady Indians were able to make it a bit closer by taking advantage of miscues and courtesy of Lily Smith's back-to-back kills. However, TFS dropped the set, 13-25.

Set Two: W 26-24

The Lady Indians were much sharper in the second set, starting out with an 8-5 advantage. Shelby Whisnant had a beautiful dump kill, and Rebecca Heyl added a flurry of key kills along with an ace by Livianos to push the lead up to 13-6. King's Academy went on a run, but another mammoth pair of spikes by Heyl kept TFS out front, 17-12. Corinne Swinton slammed in a couple of kills, as did Smith. It was knotted at 24 apiece, and Smith had the clinching kill to pull out the 26-24 win to even the match at a set apiece. 

Set Three: L 17-25

Heyl opened with a kill, but TFS fell behind 7-1 after that. Livianos had a kill and ace to pull within 10-7. The entire team kept it close, as Heyl had another big deal set with multiple kills along with Swinton. The King's Academy pushed TFS to the brink with a 25-17 third-set win.

Set Four: W 25-19

The Lady Indians, facing elimination, tried to rally a comeback. Swinton and Livianos had TFS within striking distance at 6-8. Livianos also had a key ace that glanced off the net to make it a 1-point game, and Heyl tied it with a smash over the net. Livianos had a big run at serve, putting Tallulah Falls up by a point. They stayed close, as Heyl continued to stay hot along with Livianos, and Swinton had a monster block to pull ahead 12-11. Swinton had an ace moments later to place Tallulah ahead at 16-13. A Livianos deep shot in the back corner continued to pad the lead. 

The King's Academy rallied to within a point, but Livianos and Swinton continued to push forward. They went ahead 21-18, forcing a KA timeout late. Heyl placed in two fantastic kills right at the back line, and Smith had the clinching kill to punctuate a 25-19 win and force a decisive fifth set.

Set Five: W 15-8

Tallulah Falls this time raced out to a quick 6-3 start, forcing another King's Academy timeout. Swinton, Smith, and Livianos all had kills in the early going. The Lady Knights got back within one, but Swinton had a kill that deflected out of bounds, and Heyl found the back line again, giving TFS a 10-6 lead. Heyl's spike moments later made it 11-6, and a couple of big defensive plays had TFS a couple points away at 13-7. A block put the Lady Indians a single point away from victory, and Heyl secured the match with a hard kill over the net.