Gordon Lee spikers finding form Oakwood splits season openers
The Gordon Lee Lady Trojans rebounded from a season-opening split to claim a pair of impressive wins in last Tuesday’s home debut. Gordon Lee opened the evening with a straight set win over Coahulla Creek. The Lady Trojans trailed 10-8 in the first set before reeling off 16 unanswered points to take control. Caroline Thomas served 15 of those points, including eight aces, as Gordon Lee won, 25-11. Then in the second game, the Lady Colts jumped out to a 13-9 lead before Gordon Lee came storming back to close out the match 25-18. Their second match of the night was far less eventful as they handled LFO with relative ease, 25-15 and 25-12. Katie Barger had 22 assists for the Lady Trojans. Thomas had a huge night with 15 aces, 14 digs, and eight kills. Michelle Powell finished with 12 kills, 15 digs, and four aces. Taylor Hartline had eight kills and nine digs, while Sara Clayton chipped in with 10 kills. Gordon Lee also got valuable production from its bench. Anna Pettigrew had five kills and three blocks, Julianna Spradlin finished with three aces, and setter Shelby Thompson had three assists to help the cause. Then on Thursday in LaFayette, the Lady Trojans made the trip down Highway 27 on Thursday evening and arrived back in Chickamauga with a pair of straight set wins. Gordon Lee had little trouble beating the Chattooga Lady Indians, 25-8, 25-14, but found themselves down 20-10 to the Lady Ramblers in the first set of their second match of the night. That’s when Thomas stepped to the line. The junior, who reeled off 15 straight points in a win over Coahulla Creek on Tuesday, pulled off the feat again against their county neighbors. She had three aces and she and the Lady Trojans won the first set, 25-20, before a CHATTANOOGA — A new season of Oakwood Christian Lady Eagles’ volleyball dawned last Monday afternoon in Lookout Valley against a Lady Jackets’ team that Oakwood had success against in a multi-team scrimmage day in Hixson on Aug. 11. But things would be different in the Lady Jackets’ nest. Oakwood really never found their rhythm during the match, and except for a few brief spurts, could do little to muster any offense as Lookout Valley claimed the match in three straight sets. “Today was kind of disappointing,” said new Oakwood head coach Beth Bellamy. “We didn’t play well at all. Our energy level was just low and we just have some things we need to focus on, but I think we’ll be able to do that.” The opening set never saw Lookout Valley lose the lead, although they were not able to pull away from the Lady Eagles until they scored the final four points to earn a 25-19 win. The next two sets, however, would be a different story. The Lady Jackets led 14-1 in the second set, and although Oakwood rallied to get back to within six points at 18-12, the hosts scored seven of the final nine points to win, 25-14. Then in the third set, Lookout Valley jumped out to a quick 11-3 lead before coasting to another 25-14 victory. Danyelle Carr paced the offense with eight kills and a pair of aces. Libero Makenzie Jones had 22 digs to go with two kills, and setter Becca Mares finished with nine assists and four digs. “There were a few positives we can take away, a few shining moments, but there are definitely some things we need to work on,” Bellamy added. “We just need to take the experience from this and go on. (Lookout Valley) isn’t in our conference, but this is why you play matches like this, to get better.” The Lady Eagles evened their record at 1-1 with a home victory on Tuesday over Chattanooga Leadership Academy. Scores and statistics from the match were not available as of press time. Thursday’s match against Chattanooga’s Silverdale was cancelled. Oakwood is set for a tri-match at Cleveland Christian on Tuesday. social media. “I can’t express how much it’s all meant to me,” he said of the outpouring of support. “It’s been phenomenal. I just feel so blessed to have so many close friends, players, students, and others offering their prayers. The support I have received has just been unbelievable.”
serving up a more conventional 25-14 win in the second set. Thomas ended the night with 10 digs and six kills to go with the three aces. Hartline had 11 kills, and Clayton added a dozen kills to go with four aces and three blocks. Powell finished with 13 digs, six kills, and three aces. Barger led her team with 16 assists while adding three aces, while Kaitlyn McConnell had 13 assists and a pair of aces. Gordon Lee was slated to play on Tuesday, joining Baylor for a tri-match at Southeast Whitfield. The Lady Trojans will join Coahulla Creek for a tri-match at Ridgeland on Thursday. Gordon Lee found the going a bit tougher as they went 1-2 in a weekend tournament at the Jack Mattox Complex in Ringgold. The Lady Trojans dropped their Friday night opener to Calhoun, 11-2. Alyssa Coates went brother Luke, who were accompanied by their grandfather. “(The course) is very good for the family and you can come out and play golf everyday,” Cole said. “We try to come out ever weekend and play as much as we can. It’s not too hard of a course, probably about a medium-hard course for the family.” “We have a lot of grandfathers come out to play a round with their sons and grandsons,” Jones added. “Some even bring their wives to teach them how to play. We get quite a lot of locals, and a lot of locals have become members, but we’ve also gotten a lot of people from up around Chattanooga to down around Summerville who have been out here to play.” Jones, an avid golfer, did much of the course