by Jared Jensen
The Paducah Sun
September 15, 2025
Used with permission.
The Paducah Tilghman Lady Blue Tornado volleyball program is on a roll through their first nine games of the season. After a busy weekend of volleyball, where they defeated Madisonville-North Hopkins 3-1 and Union County 3-0, the Lady Tornado found themselves champions of the Kentucky 2A Section 1 Title.
Tilghman added another win Monday night, a 3-0 sweep over Fulton County, marking a 9-0 start to the year and the best start in program history.
The 2A Sectional win marks the second in program history, the first dating back to 2021, with a runner-up finish in 2023. And while the accomplishment is significant for the Lady Tornado, they all know they have more to offer and more to prove as the season progresses.
“We are all such good players individually, so the chemistry is there and you haven’t even seen how good we can be. This is just the start of it,” senior Ma’Kel Ridgeway said.
Coach Gwen Duncan agrees.
“I just think that everybody realizes that we have not gotten to the best players that we can be individually, and we haven’t gotten to the best team that we can be collectively,” Duncan said. “But they are still practicing and putting in the work and still trying to do the things we need to do to get better every day.”
The confidence that comes with the best start in program history, paired with winning the 2A Sectional, is what is powering this team forward.
“Our confidence is genuinely what is helping us win,” Ridgeway said. “I think we believe in ourselves and believe in each other, so that’s really helping us with the streak we are on.”
Now with new goals in sight this weekend, the Lady Tornado are prepping to compete in the Kentucky 2A State Tournament at Brescia University in Owensboro.
“That is phenomenal. That is historical,” Coach Duncan said on her team’s opportunity to compete for a state title. “For our seniors, this is their way of saying ‘we did it and we did it in our senior year.’ It’s big for the school, it’s big for the program, it’s big for the community, and it’s an opportunity that few high school players get and something that they will never forget.”
“We are so excited,” Ridgeway said. “We made history, and we are so excited to get a banner and say that we are undefeated. We’ve never done this before, so we are just so grateful and so blessed to be the team that did it. We all love each other so much, and we are glad that it was us.”
Tilghman (9-0) will take on Russell High School (7-6) on Friday, September 18, from Brescia University at 3:15 p.m. The Kentucky 2A Championship game is scheduled for Saturday at 4 p.m.