The standard they chased: East Union takes unbeaten run to first state final

ELLISTOWN — Four years ago, Josh Blythe was talking about someone else’s volleyball program when he described the standard in Class 2A.

Walnut had ended East Union’s 2022 playoff run. In an interview with Tippah County Sports, Blythe praised the Lady Wildcats’ defense, passing and communication, then identified Walnut as the “standard in 2A volleyball, especially in the north.”

“There ain’t no doubt,” he said.

On Thursday, East Union has an opportunity to become the kind of program its coach was describing.

The Lady Urchins arrive at their first state championship match with a 37-0 record, having earned their place by sweeping defending champion Walnut in Monday’s North State final. The program that once measured itself against the champions is now one victory away from joining them.

East Union faces Enterprise-Clarke (29-3) at noon Central today, Thursday, Oct. 15, at A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi Christian University campus in Clinton. A victory would deliver the school’s first volleyball state championship and complete a 38-0 season.

But the significance of Thursday reaches beyond the zero in the loss column. East Union has a chance to turn years of progress into something permanent.

A breakthrough years in the making

The record makes this season look almost effortless. The program’s progression tells a different story.

MaxPreps lists East Union at 22-11-1 in 2024 and 32-5 in 2025. Those were winning seasons, steps forward and evidence of a program becoming increasingly difficult to beat. This fall, difficult has become something no opponent has managed at all.

Across 37 matches, the Lady Urchins have won 96 sets and lost just three. Their schedule includes victories over larger-classification opponents such as Saltillo, Caledonia and New Albany, along with the familiar opponents that make northeast Mississippi volleyball so competitive.

Then came the postseason. Kemper County, New Site, Hatley and Walnut each stood between East Union and Clinton. The Lady Urchins swept all four, winning 12 consecutive playoff sets without surrendering one.

Monday’s victory carried particular weight.

Walnut was not simply another name on the bracket. It was the defending champion, a program Blythe had publicly recognized as a model of what winning volleyball looked like. This time, East Union prevailed 25-17, 25-13, 25-21, claiming its first championship-game berth.

Even the straight-set result does not fully capture the work required. In the third set, Walnut cut a 15-9 deficit to 17-14, trying to extend its title defense. East Union finished the set and the match before that rally could become something more.

The Lady Urchins had done more than preserve an unbeaten record. They had beaten the defending champions with a trip to Clinton on the line.

The players behind the perfect record

Ann Fleming LeFlore gives East Union a player capable of commanding attention on the state’s biggest stage. The junior outside hitter was named the 2026 C Spire Class 2A Miss Volleyball, earning the classification’s top individual recognition.

Her reported MaxPreps totals include 592 kills, an average of 6.0 per set, and a .385 hitting percentage. Against Walnut, she supplied 20 kills in the match that sent East Union to its first final.

Yet LeFlore’s own assessment after that victory directed attention toward the entire lineup.

Despite the exploits of LeFlore, the Miss Volleyball winner went out of her way to talk about how well rounded her squad is.

The numbers support her.

Junior libero Reagan Johnson has 559 reported digs and 113 service aces. Those totals reflect two different ways to influence a match: keeping an opponent’s attack from ending a rally and preventing the opponent from building an attack in the first place.

Setters Lyla Brock and Lilly Bruce have 525 and 375 reported assists, respectively. Senior Lily Kate Johnson contributes at the net with 193 kills and 61 blocks, while junior Marley Clayton has added 186 kills. East Union’s production extends well beyond its leading hitter.

That balance matters in a championship match. Enterprise can devote attention to LeFlore, but East Union has other players capable of finishing a rally. And before any hitter gets that opportunity, someone else must make the pass, chase the ball or deliver the set.

For all the attention an unbeaten record attracts, those ordinary exchanges are where Thursday’s extraordinary opportunity will be decided.

The final opponent has earned its place

Enterprise will arrive with more than a chance to spoil someone else’s perfect season.

The Bulldogs earned their championship berth by responding to adversity. After losing the opening set to Clarkdale in Monday’s South State final, they won the next three to take the match 19-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-17. Gracie Galyean led Enterprise with 11 kills, while Makaylee Nause contributed eight kills and eight total blocks.

That comeback is a reminder that an early lead will not be enough by itself. Enterprise has already demonstrated that it can fall behind with a championship berth at stake and recover.

For East Union, the challenge is to make the occasion bigger without allowing it to make the game unfamiliar. The Lady Urchins do not need a different identity in Clinton. They need the passing, serving, defense and attacking options that brought them there.

Thursday also begins a remarkable two-day opportunity for Union County volleyball. Ingomar will play for the Class 1A championship at noon Friday, followed by New Albany in the Class 4A final at 2 p.m. East Union gets the first opportunity to bring a title home.

For Blythe and the Lady Urchins, however, the task is immediate.

Four years ago, he described the standard after a playoff defeat. Today, his team can finish a season without one—and give the next East Union team a championship season of its own to measure against.