The Middleton High School (MHS) Lady Tigers volleyball team played at home against the Gibson County High School Pioneers in the substate match on Thursday, October 15, 2026. The winner of the match would head to state and be one step closer to being named the champion. That team is now the MHS Lady Tigers.
The match started at 6 p.m. and gave the MHS Lady Tigers a preview of what to expect through the upcoming sets. It was Middleton with a winning district season of 9 – 0 and an overall of 23 – 8 against Gibson County, which also finished first in its district 15 – 0 and an overall of 26 – 18. Gibson County took the first set 22 – 25. It was not an easy win for Gibson County and Middleton realized it would have to up its already skilled game.
Three more sets were played with the second running into overtime and ending in 29 -27 Middleton, which was followed by the third set resulting in 25-22, and the fourth set ending the match with 25 – 23, all Middleton.
It was not an easy win for Middleton. Each set went back and fourth with Middleton and Gibson County scoring points one after the other where the point divide rarely spanned beyond a three-point difference.
When Coach Craft was asked how he felt with this win, he responded with a huge smile.
“Pumped! I feel good,” said coach Zeke Craft, who has coached MHS volleyball since 2008.
Since the beginning of the season, the Lady Tigers have said they wanted to go to state. One could say it was a pipe dream, after all every team wants to go to state, but theses ladies have been determined all season. It was evident last night as they were focused, played as a team, and did not allow pressure to hinder their performance on the court. When they were down, it only served as adrenaline to reclaim the lead, which is what they did and onto the win.
“They have taken early mistakes and have improved and gotten better. We have gotten better each game the last four, five, six weeks or so. I mean, we have talk about our mistakes. We have said all year, if we can reduce our mistakes, we can beat these good teams. That was a good ball team we played tonight,” said Craft, who shared what he believes is really behind the success of the team. “I think the key . . . those are Christian girls on my team. They all pray in the huddle. Every one of them takes turns praying and they all want to pray. Just give God the Glory! I agree.”
It has been since 2014 that MHS Lady Tigers volleyball team last went to state. He describes the group of ladies as special and noted they have improved with each game they have played in the last few weeks. Craft believes in order for them to be successful at state, they will have to be determined like they were against Gibson County.
“The competition, they’re not going to back down. We’re not going to ley anybody intimidate us. We’re going up there to beat somebody,” said Craft, who encourages the ladies to fight, trust their skill, and go out there and play. “Just don’t hold it back. Let it go. Pull that ball down. Set that ball out there. Pass that ball to somebody!”.
Coach Craft shared what he loves about the sport.
“One, that we can compete with the bigger schools. You know, nobody wants to play Middleton and we compete with them and we can play at that level,” said Craft.
The Middleton High School Lady Tigers 2026 volleyball team heads to the state tournament in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Their first match of the quarterfinal will be played on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. against Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts (CSLA) Lady Eagles at Rockvale High School { 6545 TN-99, Rockvale, 37153 }. if you are not able to attend the match in person, you may watch it livestreamed.
Go Lady Tigers, Go!
