The Oak Ridge High School Volleyball Lady Wildcats had an eventful season ending with an incredible 13-1 record in-district! They worked incredibly hard, playing at least three games every week and three weekend tournaments in their short two-month season. Coach Kolodney feels that it is important to play many out of district games throughout the season to experience the high level of competition that they will see at States. The tenacity and cohesiveness that they have worked hard on as a team is sure to pay off at the District Tournament in the ORHS Arena on October 6th.
Come out and cheer on your Lady Wildcats at 4:30pm, October 6th at the ORHS Arena!
The losses throughout the season were as important as the wins. The team lost two players in the middle of the season to quarantine and worked through various line-up changes. They lost to Hardin Valley Academy on September 13th right after their only in-district loss against West. Coach Dave Kolodney says, “While we never want to lose 3 in a row, I think we can take a little bit of encouragement in the fact that these weren’t badly played games. We were certainly a little flat but had moments of really good play tonight. We were competitive in all 3 sets but couldn’t close when we needed to which has been a problem all season. We’ll get that figured out and fixed.”
They came back to win against Hardin Valley in the finals at Rocky Top Sports World on September 25th. That was a sweet victory and shows a tenacity that will serve the team well during States.
The team also has a playful side. Coach Dave Kolodney talks about the match on September 21st against Halls for senior night, “This match was a good one for us. I thought the team played loose and carefree – something they’ve been struggling with recently. This was the most cohesive I’ve seen them in a couple of weeks and that certainly contributed to our success tonight. It’s always good to walk away with a district win but this one was even sweeter because as a team we needed it.”
They fully enjoyed both the competition and the party at the Farragut Dig Pink! on September 22, 2021. Dig Pink is a Breast Cancer fundraising and awareness event that each team does at their home court during the season. All students wearing Pink were admitted to the game free. No one could match Coach Kolodney’s pink wig and sparkly pink shirt!
Dig Pink (LtoR): Standing, Coach Dave Kolodney, Piper Suddeth, Lily Yassu, Kylan Bargar, Ipek Ozcan, Kyra Ulreich, Jade Schwinge, Kneeling: Peyton Uptgraft, Alex Shanafield, and Romy Hitson
Senior Night (L-R): Kyra Ulreich, Piper Suddeth, Romy Hitson, Ipek Ozcan, Alex Shanafield
RockyTopSportsWorld Win (LtoR):Back Row, Jade Schwinge, Piper Suddeth, Ipek Ozcan, Lily Yassu, Kyra Ulreich, Coach Dave Kolodney Front Row: Peyton Uptgraft, Alex Shanafield, Kaylan Bargar, and Romy Hitson