SHOALS, Ind. — Making program history is one thing, but being satisfied with it is entirely another.

In a special interview with The Loogootee Times, we spoke a special moment to speak with Coach Atkinson of Shoals High School this morning and asked her about the key details behind the girls volleyball team’s first appearance in the Semi-State tournament, and the history she and her team are set to make on Saturday in Martinsville.

As the Shoals High School volleyball team prepares for its first Semi-State tournament appearance, head coach Atkinson and her squad are refusing to let the moment overwhelm them. Carrying the momentum of a historic postseason run and the passionate backing of Martin County, the Lady Jug Rox enter Saturday’s clash against Indianapolis Lutheran focused on one primary objective: refuse to lose.

“Yes, we have made history, but nobody is satisfied,” Atkinson said. “Just keeping that unsatisfied feeling going until the end… There’s a maximum of three games left, and every single one of them and me plan to be in there. My message is refuse to lose, refuse to be beaten. There is no reason why we can’t beat them.”

Shoals earned its historic Semi-State berth after battling through postseason action, capped by an emotional five-set regional victory over Shakamak. Rather than letting the emotional high linger, the Jug Rox took Monday off to rest, recharge, and receive massages before diving straight into high-intensity game preparations.

“They act like there’s no pressure on their back,” Atkinson said of her players. “We always say if there’s no pressure, there’s no reason to be there. Pressure gives a purpose for us. They have no fears, and they’re ready to play.”

That composure will be tested against Indianapolis Lutheran, a high-octane squad featuring a 6-foot-3 left-handed hitter and an offense operating at a much faster tempo than what Shoals faced in previous rounds. To prepare, the Jug Rox brought in left-handed attackers during practice and adjusted their defensive and blocking schemes to match.

“Adjusting our defense and our blockers to a lefty and a stronger offense is the goal,” Atkinson said, adding that Shoals must execute in transition. “We’ve really got to run our middles. That’s always the game plan for any game—use your powerhouse hitters.”

While standout attackers Emmayln McNabb and Brazelea Lents lead the frontline alongside Journey Chastain, Atkinson stressed that advancing past semistate requires all six positions firing simultaneously. Setter Riley Bauer runs the offensive scheme, while Hadley, Lauren, and libero Peyton Albright provide steady court awareness.

Albright, who joined the varsity roster this season, has injected an infectious swagger and vocal intensity into the lineup.

“She is our voice,” Atkinson said. “When Peyton’s in the game, it’s a totally different ballgame. She is loud and proud, she’s happy to be there, and she brings everybody up. The whole team gets fired up.”

Beyond the court, the Lady Jug Rox are fueled by historic local enthusiasm. Banners, decorated storefronts, and yard signs blanket Shoals, covering homes, bridges, and local staples like Bo-Mac’s and Jones. The town council even officially designated the full week in honor of the volleyball team.

“Every single person in this town basically is behind them,” Atkinson said, recalling hundreds of fans lining downtown sidewalks for their team send-off. “That really has helped light a fire under us to keep pushing forward.”

Full Interview Transcript (Full Audio Above)

Coach Atkinson: Yeah, sounds good.

Braydyn: So, the first question I have is: With semistate around the corner, how has your team been utilizing this time or really taking this time to their advantage?

Coach Atkinson: Honestly, we’ve had a really good week. I mean, they’ve had a good last couple of weeks, of course. But we took Monday off to kind of rest and relax. They got some massages, and then we’ve really hit practice hard. We’ll hit practice hard again today and tomorrow. You know, we took the weekend to take it all in, and then we hit the weekdays to prepare for the next game.

Braydyn: So, there’s been a lot of chatter, especially amongst the Loogootee and Martin County area, with the level of excitement that’s around this team. How is this team handling all the pressure?

Coach Atkinson: They’re handling it better than me. They act like there’s no pressure on their back. You know, we always say if there’s no pressure, there’s no reason to be there. Pressure gives a purpose for us. So, they’ve really handled it really well, and there’s no doubt in my mind that they can do this. They have no fears, and they’re ready to play.

Braydyn: And so, what is your game plan strategy going into the Indianapolis Lutheran match and then the match after that?

Coach Atkinson: Going into Indianapolis Lutheran, they do have a girl that’s 6-3, she’s a lefty. We don’t play against many lefties in the season, just Orleans. But, you know, the goal is to keep her swings to a minimum. It’s going to be a whole different ballgame than Shakamak that, you know, liked to tip. Lutheran runs a little faster of an offense, so just adjusting our defense and our blockers to a lefty and a stronger offense.

Braydyn: So, in terms of the stronger offense, do you think that this team, in your eyes, maybe can handle it when it comes down to Indianapolis Lutheran, especially on the left side of the ball?

Coach Atkinson: Oh yeah, absolutely. They definitely can handle it. You know, we’ve had some lefties come in and hit at us this week, and just a little bit of the stronger hitters practicing against us. So, I think that they can handle it well. We’ve adjusted our defense, and, you know, we’ve really got to run our middles. You know, that’s always the game plan for any game is to, you know, use your powerhouse hitters, so they can handle it.

Braydyn: And so going into your seniors this season, I know they have been a big, big part as to why the team is currently in semistate. Are they becoming as good of leaders as they can in terms of them mentoring the younger players, or how are they handling all of this pressure as well?

Coach Atkinson: You know, every single one of them are great role models. They handle this pressure with grace. I think that they’ve set the bar from as young as my 2-year-old all the way up to just underclassmen below them, that, you know, anybody can do this. And I don’t know, I think that just all across the board, they’ve changed the outlook of Shoals volleyball.

Braydyn: And speaking of that, with Shoals volleyball changing, has this been maybe—I don’t know about you, but this has been a very momentous story for the entire area. How are you handling not only just the weight of this being your first semistate, but how are you handling all of this?

Coach Atkinson: Our community has shown us a tremendous amount of support. You know, we’ve never been to semistate, but I’m trying to treat it like it’s no different than, you know, preparing for sectional in the past. Obviously a little different competition and a bigger stage, but just, I mean, I’m still doing our same thing. We’re still practicing hard, I’m still scouting every night, just trying not to let pressure get to us. You know, we try to use pressure for a purpose.

Braydyn: And so, with Shoals being such a small community, you mentioned the community has been around you guys all along. How has the community helped impact not just the players, but how they perform on the court?

Coach Atkinson:, I think that the biggest thing is our crowd. When we were in the fifth set against Shakamak, we looked out, and nobody wanted to let anybody down that had been here to support us. You know, we had the majority of the gym, the majority of the crowd were Shoals people. And I just told the girls, you know, look out. You don’t want to disappoint yourselves, your teammates, but look at the community beside you that you don’t want to disappoint. And I think that that really has helped light a fire under us to help them push a little extra when they may get tired, or something like that. They look out and see that every single person in this town basically is behind them. You know, Bo-Mac’s, our local restaurant, they let all of the local teenagers off to come to the game. The girls were so excited to have their big student section there because people in the community were kind enough to let them off to be there for their classmates.

Braydyn: And so, with the two big players I noticed during the sectionals—or during the regionals, I do remember Emily McNabb and Braisley Lents. They seem to be two of your best players on the team, best hitters. How are they going to be very important going into not just the Lutheran game, but throughout the semistate?

Coach Atkinson: You know, every single one of these players are important to the team. You’ve got Braisley, Hadley, and Lauren—they’re all pretty similar to each other. They all are very consistent players and help us defensively and offensively. Emily, she’s going to put up a big block for us and have some big swings. Same thing with Journey Chastain. She was on fire last weekend against Shakamak. We need her and Emily both hitting on all cylinders. And then Riley Bauer, she’s our setter. She runs our entire offense. Her speed and serving pressure, and obviously her setting—every single one of them are going to be a big—everybody has to hit on all cylinders this weekend and, you know, hopefully next. Peyton Albright, I brought her onto varsity this year as our libero, and she’s brought the game. She is our voice.

Braydyn: And so, how important is it for her not just to be the voice, but also to have your team be a vocal voice as well?

Coach Atkinson: When Peyton’s in the game, it’s a totally different ballgame. She’s loud and proud, and she’s happy to be there, and she brings everybody up. She’s the biggest hype. There’s a video on TikTok of Lauren Bauer shoving her across the gym after she got a point, and I think that just speaks for itself on how much energy she brings to us. The whole team gets fired up. Riley, she’s big and she’s loud. I do have a few quieter ones, but whenever they’re big and loud and in your face and excited for every point or every ball you get up, it just brings everybody up.

Braydyn: And so, with the community you mentioned earlier, the amount of support they have when they’re firing the players up, what other ways have the community been not just supporting you guys, but really rallying around this very historic moment?

Coach Atkinson: You know, if you drive through Shoals, there’s signs everywhere. People have decorated their windows, people decorated the bridge. You know, of course, we’ve got our signs in the Bo-Mac’s yard; we’ve got a plywood sign at Jones’. The whole town’s decorated. Last Saturday before we left for Shakamak—I think I said this in another interview—but I drove past one time just to see, because I knew people were going to be lined up to send us off. Shoals is a very short town. I turned around and I came back, and there’s 50 more people. You know, they have lined up and sent us off, they’ve fed us, they’ve prayed for us, they gave us snacks. I mean, we had a town council meeting last night where they named an entire week after the volleyball team. So, just an outstanding amount of support from the community to the volleyball team.

Braydyn: And so, going into your matchup against Indianapolis Lutheran, what other things have you also noticed about Lutheran that your team can probably improve on, or that your team can change, especially going into that match?

Coach Atkinson: You know, at this point in the season, it’s just perfecting things or tweaking things here and there, adjusting to different teams that you’re going to be playing. And I think for us, it’s just going from—you know, we played a strong Loogootee team that’s swinging away at us. They got a couple taller girls, and then we adjusted back down to Orleans, that has little smaller girls and two lefties. And then you go into Shakamak; they don’t swing a whole lot, they tip a whole lot, they push corners. And now you’re going into Lutheran that are—you’ve got three powerhouse hitters that are going to swing at you all day. So, just adjusting to different teams that you’re going to play. We’ve adjusted things that we worked on in practice last week that we’re not really working on this week in practice, just looking at different teams and different styles of play.

Braydyn: And so the final question I do have for you is: What was your final message, or what will be your final message going into this semistate and going into possibly further down the road, that you want to make very important for this Shoals team?

Coach Atkinson: Honestly, yes, we have made history, but nobody is satisfied. So, just keeping that unsatisfied feeling going until we get to the end. You know, there’s a max of three games left, and every single one of them and me plan to be in there. So, my message is: refuse to lose, refuse to be beaten. There is nothing mental between us, Lutheran, and any of the other two teams that we would see for the rest of the season. So, there’s no reason why we can’t beat them. Just staying focused, refusing to lose, and keeping that unsatisfied feeling until the end.