The Oak Ridge High School Lady Wildcat Volleyball played their last regular-season home match against Powell Monday night. The Lady Panthers put up little resistance as the Lady ‘Cats dominated from start to finish in the three-set sweep (25-11, 25-8, 25-4). “This was a good match to have after a long Saturday with a frustrating end,” said Oak Ridge Head Coach Dave Kolodney. “We were able to refocus ourselves and work on correcting some of the unforced errors that cost us a chance at winning that tournament.” The Lady Wildcats lost in the Quarterfinals of Saturday’s Courtside at Concord after going undefeated in pool play. “We still made too many [errors] tonight; especially serving,” Coach Kolodney continued. “But we were able to get past them for the victory.” The Lady ‘Cats were led by Junior Paige Halcrow with 9 Digs; Ainsley Patrick with 11 Kills; Sydney Ward with 4 Aces; and Piper Suddeth with 13 Assists. Sophomore Alex Shanafield was named Player of the Match by her Coach. “Statistically she played a very solid game – 20% aces with more serves than anyone else as well as no attack errors and 2 Kills from her 11 swings,” Kolodney said about his Sophomore Pin Hitter. “However, what made her so valuable tonight is her ability to play multiple positions throughout the evening; giving some of our starters some much needed late season rest. Tonight, she played 2 different positions and in 3 different rotations without missing a beat.” With this victory, Oak Ridge locked up their sole claim to the District 4-AAA regular season title. “Tonight was another step toward an undefeated district season and the top seed in the district tournament,” Kolodney finished. “But, we can’t look too far down the road as we’ve got a big region match tomorrow with Farragut who always brings their best – so we need to be ready from the first point to the last.”
Oak Ridge travels to Farragut Tuesday and to Karns on Wednesday for the final regular-season match. Oak Ridge moves to 29-4 on the season and remains undefeated in District 4-AAA play (11-0).
Way to go Lady Cats. You're so fun to watch!!