LEBANON -- Portland claimed the District 9AAA volleyball tournament champion Thursday night with a 3-2 victory over regular season champion Mt. Juliet at Lebanon High. Game scores: 22-25, 26-24, 19-25, 25-23 and 15-12.

Both squads will move on to the Region 5AAA tournament Tuesday at Dickson County. Mt. Juliet (32-7) will take on District 10AAA champ Dickson County while Portland faces Rossview. The semifinal winners will play later Tuesday night for the region championship and a host berth in the sectional.

ON TUESDAY -- No. 1 Mt. Juliet won in four games over No. 4 Beech — 25-19, 25-23, 17-25, 25-20. No. 2 seed Portland was a three-game winner over No. 6 Hendersonville — 25-10, 25-12, 27-25 in the District 9AAA semifinals.

The district is guaranteed a new champion for the first time since 2008. Three-time defending champion Wilson Central was upset in five games by Hendersonville on Monday night. Portland has finished as runner-up each of the last three years.

Coach Jennifer Wilson's Lady Bears hit 10 points quickly in the first game and built an 18-9 lead before Beech’s first run. The Lady Buccaneers reeled off runs of 6-0 and 5-0 to cut the lead to four on both occasions. The final time was at 23-19 before Mt. Juliet scored the last two to get the win.

It was Beech’s turn in the second game as it opened up a 5-1 lead and maintained a three-five-point margin until Mt. Juliet made its run at the 18-point mark. Trailing 18-12, the Lady Golden Bears outscored the Lady Bucs 13-5 the rest of the way — including ties at 21 and 23 and the final two points of the game to pick up the second victory.

Beech again jumped out to a quick lead in the first elimination game (6-1) and saw the lead reach an eight-point margin at 11-3 and trimmed down to two at 17-15. But the Lady Bucs had the final spurt, outscoring Mt. Juliet 8-2 to get its only win of the day.

In the fourth game, Mt., Juliet took a 2-1 lead and never trailed afterwards, pushing the advantage as high as seven before getting the five-point win and the semifinal victory.

Ryann Amity led the Lady Bears with 12 kills, seven digs, three blocks and a pair of aces. Halle Raines had 32 assists for the winners.

All-District 9AAA Team
Courtney Glover, Senior Hendersonville, Outside Hitter
Kylie Bradley, Senior Portland, Middle Hitter
Nikki Lowe, Senior Portland, Libero
Kaylie White, Senior Station Camp, Right side Hitter
Korri Bowers, Senior Wilson Central, Outside Hitter
Kendall Roberts, Senior Wilson Central, Libero
Falon Baker, Junior Beech, Setter
Alex Britt, Junior Lebanon, Middle Hitter
Allyson Huffman, Junior Mt. Juliet, Outside Hitter
Sarah Kibbey, Junior Portland, Setter
9AAA MVP Ryann Amity, Junior, Mt. Juliet
9AAA Coach of the Year
Molly Yarbrough,  Station Camp