Lady Owls Face Red Bank In 6-AAA Final Tuesday
by John Hunt
posted October 13, 2008
Soddy Daisy had beaten Ooltewah twice in district volleyball matches this year, but you know what they say about how tough it is to beat the same team three times in the same season.
The Lady Owls won when it counted most Monday night at Central in the District 6-AAA tournament semifinals.
To nobody’s surprise, top-seeded Red Bank defeated Central in the first semifinal by scores of 25-6, 25-12 and 25-6.
The second semifinal match between Soddy Daisy and Ooltewah was a barnburner.
It’s too bad that either team had to lose as both have outstanding squads, but when it came right down to it, the Lady Owls just weren’t ready to close the book on the 2008 season.
After all, the Lady Owls are the defending District and Region champions and they finished runner-up in the state.
They graduated five really good players, so this year has been especially challenging for coach Elaine Peigen and her Lady Owls.
Progress has been slow at times and the patience of the players and coaches have been tried more than once.
But as the old saying goes, nobody remembers who won at the beginning, but everyone remembers who wins at the end.
Ooltewah won the first game, 25-22, before Soddy Daisy won the next two by scores of 25-20 and 25-23.
With their collective backs against the wall, the Lady Owls rallied once again to win the fourth game, 25-20, to force the deciding fifth.
That fifth game may have been the best of the evening as there were eight ties and six lead changes along the way before Ooltewah prevailed by a 15-12 final.
Senior Nikki Brooks recorded a kill to give Ooltewah a 13-12 advantage and sophomore Alex Martin made it 14-12 with a key block.
The Lady Owls won on the next serve and the celebration began.
“We knew it would be a dogfight, but at least we gave the fans their money’s worth,” said Soddy Daisy coach Lorri Johnson after her team’s season ended with a record of 28-17.
“We beat them twice during the regular season, but Ooltewah has gotten better and better.
"They made the plays at the end and we didn’t. Their new girl (Alex Martin) made a big difference.
“It’s tough that we lose and go home, but I guess we can start working on next year,” Johnson concluded with a smile.
Ooltewah’s Peigen entered the gym with lots of confidence in her team’s ability to play winning volleyball.
There were several times during the match when she might have questioned that confidence, but when the final point had been scored, she was just thankful that her girls survived to play at least two more matches.
“I was on pins and needles the entire time. It was a great match and the intensity level was high the whole way.
“You know, we lost some outstanding players to graduation last year and it seems like we’ve been trying to play catch-up the entire season.
"Each one of these girls have improved so much. You just can’t imagine how much we’ve progressed since the first of the season.
“The important thing tonight is we didn’t quit. We had a few times when we went into a funk, but we kept talking to each other and encouraging them and we never gave up.
"For all the hard work they’ve done in recent weeks, I felt like we deserved to win.
“It could have gone either way,” Peigen concluded, her team now 28-22.
Red Bank had put a pretty good whipping on Central the last time they played.
Red Bank coach Christel Helton tried to use caution as a key word to prepare her Lady Lions for Monday’s opening match.
Red Bank was somewhat complacent at times, but when it mattered the most, the Lady Lions won without much difficulty.
With the win, Red Bank improves to 41-8, which gives this year’s team the most wins in a season ever.
The 1987 team won 40 matches, so the 41st was at least one special feature to Monday’s victory.
“We wanted to play well today and to focus on ourselves. Overall I’m pleased,” Helton said.
“We advanced to the District final and we’ll be playing in the Region after that.
"Today’s win breaking the old record makes it even nicer, but I just told my girls to remember all the hard work they put into winning those matches before we got here. We aren’t through just yet,” she added.
While the season concludes for Central and Soddy Daisy, Red Bank and Ooltewah will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday for the District championship.
Red Bank stats:
Melanie Gibson – 13 digs;
Kayla Helton – 8 kills;
Bailey Lyness – 3 digs, 3 aces;
Christina Teter – 4 kills, 4 aces, 6 digs;
Haley Blackburn – 16 assists, 8 aces;
Courtney Lawson – 10 kills, 12 assists, 6 aces.
Ooltewah stats:
Laren Bennett – 17 assists, 4 digs, 2 aces, 11 service points;
Nikki Brooks – 14 kills, 27 digs, 4 aces, 3 blocks, 15 service points;
Libby Peigen – 11 kills, 35 digs, 1 ace, 8 service points;
Alex Martin – 12 kills, 3 digs, 10 blocks;
Bri Shoemaker – 53 digs, 4 aces, 10 service points;
Morgan Sullivan – 9 kills, 5 digs, 2 blocks;
Audra Morgan – 6 kills, 14 digs, 3 aces, 3 blocks, 12 service points;
Kennisha Cook – 9 digs, 14 assists, 3 aces, 8 service points;
Kianna Delaney – 10 kills, 2 digs, 4 blocks.
Soddy Daisy stats:
Savannah Hartman – 1 ace, 14 kills, 12 digs;
Abbey Thaxton – 2 kills, 33 digs;
Shelby Garren – 6 digs, 25 assists;
Andrea Johnson – 5 aces, 21 kills, 2 blocks, 19 digs, 19 assists;
Lacey Wright – 7 digs;
Kelly Ware – 2 aces, 6 kills, 6 digs;
Christy Johnson – 2 kills, 3 blocks, 3 assists;
Ashlee England – 2 aces, 9 kills, 4 blocks;
Hayli Raines – 3 kills, 1 block, 9 digs.
(Email John Hunt at tnmoose2002@aol.com)
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