Ooltewah coach Elaine Peigen expected a tough volleyball match on Wednesday at Walker Valley.
Her Lady Owls got just that.
After winning the first two sets, Ooltewah came up short in the next two and held on for a 3-2 District 5-3A showdown in Cleveland to remain unbeaten in league play. The Lady Owls have now won at least 46 consecutive district matches dating to 2012.
“We let them come back on us in the third and fourth sets,” Peigen said in a telephone interview. “We came back in both sets, but you can’t make as many unforced errors as we made. Walker Valley played well and got in a rhythm in the third and fourth sets. We’ve got a lot to work on.
Set scores were 25-15, 25-19, 16-25, 20-25, 15-13.
Ooltewah (14-4, 5-0), which is will next play this weekend in the Choo Choo Classic and it’s in the same pool as Walker Valley, Peigen said.
The Lady Owls, who are 150-48 over the three-plus seasons, turned in a strong effort to putting attacks in motion and defending against offensive moves by the Lady Mustangs.
Ooltewah was credited with 107 seven digs in the match, with Courtney Swafford leading with 24. Macy Milliken, Jadyn Raschke and Shelby Sutton had 23 apiece and Sidney Killingsworth added 14.
Killingsworth paced Ooltewah with 14 kills and six blocks.
Milliken had a team-high 23 assists.
Next week, the Lady Owls will host a much-improved Cleveland squad on Tuesday and then travel to take on another district rival East Hamilton on Thursday.
“We played well in the first two sets, but Walker Valley got us back on our heels in the next two and we got beat,” Peigen said.
It appeared the Lady Owls would make the match another three-set sweep – that would have been their second straight and third this season in district play – until the Lady Mustangs regrouped with a strong rally.
In the final set, Ooltewah got off to a quick start, but the set was tied 5-5 and 7-7, Peigen said. A missed Walker Valley serve gave Ooltewah the upper hand down the stretch.
“And we were able to finish it off,” the veteran coach said.
STATISTICS
Ooltewah
Macy Milliken – 2 kills, 23 assists, 2 aces, 17 digs
Sydney Alleman – 1 assist, 5 digs
Jadyn Raschke – 1 kill, 1 ace, 23 digs
Aubbie Collake – 7 kills, 7 aces, 7 digs
Sidney Killingsworth – 14 kills, 2 aces, 14 digs, 6 blocks
Courtney Swafford – 1 ace, 24 digs
Shelby Sutton – 5 kills, 23 digs
Cheyanne Sales – 2 kills 1 dig, 3 blocks
Audrey Jennings – 2 digs
Anna Maria Novelli – 3 kills, 5 digs
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)