Ooltewah Finishes As Choo-Choo Runner-Up

The Choo-Choo Volleyball Tournament began Friday evening with 31  high school teams from across the Southeast vying to take home the championship of the prestigious tournament.

By Saturday night, three local teams had played their way into the semifinals before Ooltewah advanced to meet Blessed Trinity Catholic in the title match at East Ridge.

The Lady Owls had put together an impressive two days of volleyball, but their run ended with a 25-20, 25-21 loss to the defending Georgia 3A state champions.

“We’re very proud of the way the girls performed this weekend,” Ooltewah coach Elaine Peigen said.

“We came a long way. I think we learned a lot about how to work together as a team and how to finish games.”

The Lady Owls went 8-2 over the tournament’s two days, their only loss before the finals coming in pool play against traditional state power Sullivan South. They avenged that defeat when both teams advanced to Gold bracket single-elimination play.

Ooltewah opened with a victory over Science Hill while Sullivan South advanced by defeating GPS. In their quarterfinal rematch, the Lady Owls took a 25-22 win in game one but lost a 34-32 thriller in the second set. Ooltewah rebounded for a 15-8 win in the third game to set up a semifinal showdown against District 5-AAA rival Soddy-Daisy.

“That’s the first time we’ve defeated Sullivan South in a long time,” Peigen said. “They handled us pretty well in camp this summer, so it was nice to see how we’ve grown. That was just a great match. Both teams played their hearts out. It was a great atmosphere for volleyball in here tonight.”

Soddy-Daisy advanced to the final four with wins over Cleveland and Knox Catholic, and took a 25-23 victory in the first game of their semifinal against Ooltewah. The Lady Owls rebounded again, however, and their 25-20, 15-9 wins in the final two sets earned them a spot in the final.

Their opponent, Blessed Trinity, defeated Baylor 25-17, 25-16 in its semifinal, and pulled away late for a 25-20 win in the first set against Ooltewah. The Lady Owls trailed 15-9 in the second game before pulling within 19-18, but Blessed Trinity closed out the tournament championship with a 25-21 victory.

The runner-up finish was the top Choo-Choo finish for the Lady Owls in recent memory, and improved their record to 16-2 overall this season.

“We have a great group of kids,” Peigen said. “They have great attitudes, and they work together well. We’re very proud to have them on our team.”

(E-mail Jaime Barrett at jaimenbarrett@gmail.com)

Ooltewah stats and scores:

Ooltewah 2, Knoxville Grace 0

(25-15, 25-18)

Sloan Sullivan - 4 kills, 3 digs, 1 ace

Josie Cain- 5 digs

Courtlyn Ison- 7 kills, 1 dig

Alex Biro- 6 kills

Summer Williams- 3 digs

Bethany Spange- 4 digs, 2 kills, 2 aces

Hanna Matthews- 2 digs, 1 kill, 16 assists

Kailin Higgins -1 ace

Emily Grace Thompson - 1 aces

Sullivan South 2, Ooltewah 1

(23-25, 25-19, 9-15)

Sloan Sullivan - 4 kills, 4 digs

Josie Cain- 4 digs, 1 ace

Courtlyn Ison- 7 kills, 2 blocks, 1 dig

Alex Biro- 5 kills

Summer Williams- 4 digs

Bethany Spange- 6 digs, 1 kill

Hanna Matthews- 5 digs, 1 kill, 18 assists

Sidney Killingsworth- 3 kills, 2 digs

Ooltewah 2, Chattanooga Central 0

(25-16,  25-16)

Sloan Sullivan- 3 kills, 6 digs

Josie Cain- 5 digs

Courtlyn Ison- 6 kills

Alex Biro- 2 kills, 1 block

Summer Williams- 1 dig

Bethany Spange- 1 dig

Allie Jones- 2 kills

Hanna Matthews- 14 assists

Sidney Killingsworth- 2 kills

Hannah Henderson- 1 kill

Emily Grace Thompson - 1 dig

Bailey Kennedy - 2 aces, 2 digs

Ooltewah 2, Father Ryan 0

(25-17, 25-23)

Sloan Sullivan - 4 kills, 3 digs, 1 ace

Josie Cain- 12 digs

Courtlyn Ison- 6 kills, 2 digs

Alex Biro- 6 kills

Summer Williams- 2 digs

Bethany Spange - 2 digs, 2 kills

Hanna Matthews- 1 dig, 1 kill, 20 assists

Sidney Killingsworth- 3 kills, 1 dig

Emily Grace Thompson - 1 ace

Ooltewah 2, East Ridge 0

(25-18, 25-22)

Sloan Sullivan - 1 kill, 2 digs, 1 ace

Josie Cain - 4 digs

Courtlyn Ison- 6 kills

Alex Biro- 3 kills

Summer Williams - 2 digs, 2 aces

Bethany Spange - 4 kills

Hanna Matthews - 1 dig, 1 kill, 16 assists

Sidney Killingsworth- 2 kills

Alexis Godsey - 1 ace

Kailin Higgins - 1 ace

Emily Grace Thompson - 1 kill, 2 aces

Maddie Milliken - 1 kill

Ooltewah 2, East Hamilton 0

(25-18, 25-19)

Sloan Sullivan - 1 kill, 7 digs, 3 aces , 1 block

Josie Cain- 4 digs

Courtlyn Ison- 7 kills

Alex Biro- 2 kills, 1 block, 2 digs

Summer Williams- 5 digs

Bethany Spange- 2 digs, 2 kills, 1 ace

Hanna Matthews- 1 digs, 13 assists

Sidney Killingsworth- 6 kills

Emily Grace Thompson - 1 ace, 1 dig

Ooltewah 2, Science Hill 0

(27-25, 25-12)

Sloan Sullivan - 3 kills, 10 digs, 3 aces

Josie Cain- 5 digs, 1 kill

Courtlyn Ison - 14 kills, 2.5 blocks, 1 dig

Alex Biro- 3 kills, 2 blocks, 1 dig

Summer Williams- 2 digs

Bethany Spange- 5 digs

Hanna Matthews- 4 digs, 1 kill, 21 assists, 2 aces, 1 block

Sidney Killingsworth- 3 kills, 2.5 blocks

Emily Grace Thompson - 3 digs

Ooltewah 2, Sullivan South 1

(25-22, 32-34, 15-8)

Sloan Sullivan - 4 kills, 15 digs, 1 ace

Josie Cain- 12 digs, 1 assist, 1 kill

Courtlyn Ison - 10 kills, 2.5 blocks

Alex Biro- 8 kills, 1 block

Summer Williams- 4 digs, 2 aces

Bethany Spange- 6 digs, 6 kills, 1 block

Hanna Matthews- 3 digs, 1 kill, 30 assists, 1 ace, 1 block

Sidney Killingsworth- 5 kills, 1.5 block, 1 assist

Ooltewah 2, Soddy Daisy 1

(23-25, 25-20, 15-9)

Sloan Sullivan - 3 kills, 11 digs, 1 block

Josie Cain- 12 digs, 4 aces, 2 assists

Courtlyn Ison- 6 kills, 2 blocks

Alex Biro- 5 kills, 2.5 blocks,  1 dig

Summer Williams- 3 digs

Bethany Spange- 7 digs, 5 kills

Hanna Matthews- 8 digs, 1 kill, 23 assists, 1 ace

Sidney Killingsworth- 6 kills, 1 block

Emily Grace Thompson-1 dig, 1 ace

Blessed Trinity 2, Ooltewah 0

(25-20, 25-21)

Sloan Sullivan - 3 kills, 2 digs, 1 block

Josie Cain- 12 digs, 1 ace, 1 assist

Courtlyn Ison - 6 kills, 2 blocks

Alex Biro- 5 kills, 1 dig

Summer Williams- 8 digs

Bethany Spange- 3 digs, 1assist, 1 block

Hanna Matthews- 6 digs,  13 assists, 2 aces

Sidney Killingsworth- 3 kills, 1 assist

Emily Grace Thompson - 2 digs, 1 ace

Ooltewah record: 16-2

Soddy-Daisy Stats: