{"id":3040,"date":"2020-09-19T13:53:35","date_gmt":"2020-09-19T18:53:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sm-tnsports.com\/?p=3040"},"modified":"2020-09-20T12:25:46","modified_gmt":"2020-09-20T17:25:46","slug":"inaugural-border-battle-provides-high-level-competition-for-local-volleyball-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sm-tnsports.com\/2020\/09\/19\/inaugural-border-battle-provides-high-level-competition-for-local-volleyball-teams\/","title":{"rendered":"Inaugural Border Battle provides high level competition for local volleyball teams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
By Chris Yow<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In a normal season, Andrea Kelly’s Summertown volleyball team would have more than 30 matches under their belt to this point. With restrictions on entering tournaments due to COVID-19, the defending Class A state champions have not been able to play the level of competition it is used to playing to this point. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That changed on Saturday when Summit and Siegel combined their planned tournaments into a regional spectacle. The inaugural Border Battle tournament featured teams from across Tennessee, as well as one of the top programs in Alabama, Hazel Green. Teams from Kentucky were forced to drop out due to COVID-19 restrictions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “A tournament like this lifts everybody’s visibility,” Summit coach Warne Riker said. “Trying to get the best teams from Memphis playing against the best from Knoxville, we’re right in the middle. If it wasn’t for COVID, we’d have the best teams from three states right here. It’s a perfect location.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n