After her team halted Ooltewah's four-year reign as District 6-AAA high school volleyball champions on Tuesday night, Soddy-Daisy junior Jessica Shaver said, "We had nothing to lose, and everything to win.''
Playing at Red Bank, coach Kate Harwood's Lady Trojans rallied from a 2-0 deficit for their first district title since Harwood took over the program six years ago.
"I'm still shaking,'' said Shaver, who led Soddy-Daisy with 11 kills. "We knew we had to show tonight that we weren't going to back down. We had something to prove. And we're going to stick around and get stronger and stronger.''
Ooltewah won the first two games, 25-23 and 25-17. The Lady Trojans gained momentum with 25-23 and 25-15 wins, then earned the district championship with a 15-13 victory.
"We are so excited,'' coach Harwood said. "We were tentative early and not loose. We've talked about not leaving anything on the court, but after those first two games there was a lot out there for us to pick up.
"When we're loose and play together we play well. It takes every one of them for us to win. We have no stud player. It takes all nine girls.''
Soddy-Daisy and Ooltewah each advance to next Tuesday's Region 3 Tournament at Ooltewah against the top two teams from District 5. The semifinals are at 5 p.m. with the final to follow.
"We capitalized on Ooltewah's mistakes, and we've never done that before,'' Harwood said. "The girls have worked and worked. All along, they have raised the bar. And they are going to do it again this year.''
Ooltewah, coached by Elaine Peigen, is the defending region champion. Under Harwood, Soddy-Daisy had never played for a district title.
"I don't know what to say,'' Peigen said. "We played well the first two games, then went downhill after that. But give Soddy-Daisy credit. They played well.
"We've still got the region, and we'll be there. We'll be OK.''
Soddy-Daisy Statistics
Tara Lee (9 kills, 15 digs, 2 blocks); Stephanie Garren (31 assists, 7 digs, 4 aces); Tara McDaniel (3 aces, 8 digs); Ericka Fulmer (7 kills, 5 blocks); Jessica Shaver (11 kills, 1 ace, 4 blocks, 20 digs); Holly Coppinger (3 kills, 6 blocks), 9 digs, 2 aces); Cori Bevering (5 kills, 7 blocks); Amy Miller (12 digs).
Ooltewah Statistics
Christy Cordell (16 pts,16 digs); Ashley Hall (12 pts, 18 assists); Jessica Kile (11 pts, 9 kills, 23 digs); Amanda Trent (7 pts, 22 digs); Kelly Roach (5 pts, 4 kills); Brandi Meents (19 digs); Christy Cotter (6 blks, 7 kills); Jessica Menzer (17 assists, 17 digs).
District 6-AAA All-Tournament Team
Beth Cotter, Central; Emily Lawson, Red Bank; Kristy Minton, Red Bank; Jessica Kile, Ooltewah; Ashley Hall, Ooltewah; Holly Coppinger, Soddy-Daisy; Jessica Shaver, Soddy-Daisy; Tara Lee, Soddy-Daisy; Stephanie Garren, Soddy-Daisy; Kristy Cordell, Ooltewah.
(E-mail Stan Crawley at wscrawley@earthlink.net)