Perfect season, final chapter: East Union and Walnut collide for North Half championship
BLUE SPRINGS — The last team to take a set from East Union is coming back. This time, Walnut needs three.
Since Walnut won the opening set of their Sept. 1 meeting, East Union has swept 16 consecutive matches. Counting the final three sets of that first matchup, the Lady Urchins have won 49 straight sets, according to their published MaxPreps results. Now the defending state champion gets another opportunity to interrupt a remarkable season — with a championship berth at stake.
East Union, 36-0, hosts Walnut, 31-4, at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12, in the MHSAA Class 2A North Half volleyball championship. The matchup brings together the classification’s two highest-ranked teams and a pair of winning streaks: East Union’s season-long run of 36 victories and Walnut’s 12 consecutive wins. MaxPreps.com
The winner advances to the Class 2A state championship at noon Thursday, Oct. 15, at Mississippi College’s A.E. Wood Coliseum in Clinton, where it will face the winner of Monday’s South Half matchup between Clarkdale and Enterprise.
For East Union, the opportunity is to move one match closer to completing a perfect season. For Walnut, it is a chance to extend a title defense that also represents the program’s final season under the Walnut name before consolidation with Falkner creates North Tippah High School. Mississippi Volleyball Power Index
Different ranking systems, the same two teams at the top
There is little disagreement about where these teams stand within Class 2A.
MaxPreps ranks East Union No. 1 in Mississippi across all classifications and Walnut No. 11 statewide. Within 2A, the Lady Urchins are first and the Lady Wildcats second. MaxPreps.com
The Mississippi Volleyball Power Index, published by Mississippi Volleyball Rankings, reaches the same conclusion within the classification. Its Oct. 11 update places East Union first in 2A and seventh statewide with a 94.0 rating. Walnut is second in 2A and 24th overall with an 88.0 rating. Mississippi Volleyball Power Index
East Union’s dominance extends beyond its record. The Lady Urchins have won 93 sets and lost only three, with Kossuth, Mooreville and Walnut the only opponents to take a set. They went 6-0 in Region 2 and enter Monday with an 18-0 home record this season. Their playoff run has consisted of straight-set victories over Kemper County, New Site and Hatley.
Walnut, meanwhile, finished 8-0 in Region 1 and has not lost a match since Sept. 12. The Lady Wildcats advanced through Leland, East Webster and Myrtle to reach North Half. Notably, East Union is the only opponent to beat Walnut in a best-of-five match this season; its other three defeats were 2-1 tournament losses to Booneville, New Albany and Tupelo.
A rivalry with a recent reversal
Last season, Walnut held the upper hand. The Lady Wildcats swept East Union in September, then defeated the Lady Urchins 3-1 in an Oct. 9 playoff matchup. Walnut eventually finished its championship run with a 3-1 victory over Lake.
This season’s first meeting reversed that result.
East Union recovered from losing the opening set Sept. 1 to win the next three and claim a 3-1 victory in Blue Springs. Ann Fleming LeFlore delivered 25 kills, while Lily Kate Johnson recorded nine blocks. Walnut received 12 kills from Molly-Kate Rolison and 10 from Maddie Wilburn.
That match provides both a warning and a starting point for Walnut. The Lady Wildcats demonstrated they could win a set in East Union’s gym, but the Lady Urchins responded emphatically. East Union finished with a 42-37 advantage in kills and a 12-4 edge in team blocks — numbers that suggest Walnut’s ability to create and finish cleaner attacking opportunities could be pivotal in the rematch.
Walnut coach Kelley Hopper believes the team returning to Blue Springs is substantially different from the one that left in September.
“We’ve changed tremendously. We truly don’t look like we did then,” Hopper told Tippah County Sports, pointing to her players’ work addressing weaknesses and reducing errors. Tippah County Sports
Miss Volleyball leads a complete East Union team
East Union coach Josh Blythe has the classification’s newly recognized top player at the center of his attack. Junior outside hitter Ann Fleming LeFlore was named the 2026 C Spire Class 2A Miss Volleyball award recipient, an honor announced by the MHSAA and Mississippi Association of Coaches.
Her latest posted MaxPreps statistics explain the selection: 571 kills, 5.9 kills per set and a .395 hitting percentage, along with 243 digs and 67 service aces. That combination gives East Union a prolific attacker who also contributes in the back row and from the service line.
LeFlore carried that production into the third round, recording 21 kills, 11 digs and two aces in the sweep of Hatley. Lilly Bruce supplied 20 assists, 11 digs and three aces in the same victory. MaxPreps.com
But treating East Union as a one-player team would overlook much of what has made it so difficult to beat.
Junior libero Reagan Johnson has recorded 544 digs and 113 aces, giving the Lady Urchins an important presence both in keeping rallies alive and in putting opponents under immediate pressure. Lyla Brock leads the team with 505 assists, while Bruce has added 367.
At the net, Lily Kate Johnson has contributed 187 kills and 57 blocks, and Marley Clayton has supplied another 182 kills. Walnut cannot devote its entire defensive attention to LeFlore without accounting for those additional scoring options.
Walnut has built another contender
Walnut’s return to this stage has come despite losing six starters from last season’s state championship squad. Rather than merely carrying forward an established lineup, Hopper has had to develop another contender while navigating the emotions of the program’s approaching transition. Tippah County Sports
The latest individual statistics posted to MaxPreps — which have not yet been updated to include Walnut’s playoff run — show the foundation of that success.
Senior outside hitter Molly-Kate Rolison leads the Lady Wildcats with 375 recorded kills, averaging 4.2 per set with a .290 hitting percentage. She also has 308 digs and 54 aces, making her an important contributor well beyond the front row.
Wilburn has provided a second major attacking option with 259 kills and a team-leading 51 blocks. Kayleigh Steele has added 46 blocks, giving Walnut two middle hitters whose work at the net could be especially important against East Union’s attack.
Senior setter Vivian Brown has recorded 660 assists and 65 aces. Taylor Garner has contributed 134 kills and 54 aces, while Brittan Dawkins has supplied 272 digs and handled a team-high 357 serve receptions. Against a serving group led by Reagan Johnson, those first contacts will help determine how often Walnut can run its offense rather than simply return the ball.
The matchup therefore extends beyond the two leading hitters. LeFlore and Rolison can finish points, but the passes, sets and defensive touches that precede their swings may decide how much room either has to operate.
For Walnut, the challenge is to withstand East Union’s serving pressure without becoming predictable. For East Union, it is to keep Walnut’s multiple attackers from finding a sustained rhythm — and to respond as effectively as it did in September should the Lady Wildcats make an early push.
One more match to earn
Walnut has already played its final home volleyball match. Rolison delivered the winning kill against Myrtle, closing the home portion of a program Hopper launched in 2018 and developed into a two-time state champion. The season, however, is not finished. Tippah County Sports
Hopper’s message is to keep the occasion from overwhelming the task.
“We just worry about one play at a time,” she told Tippah County Sports. Tippah County Sports
That approach fits a match carrying so much history and possibility. Neither the rankings nor the September result can supply Monday’s winning points. East Union must earn its place in Clinton, and Walnut must earn the right to defend its championship there.
One team is trying to keep a perfect season intact. The other is trying to keep its final season alive.
Only one will get another match.
