The Oak Ridge High School Lady Wildcat Volleyball Team traveled to Maryville Monday night to face Region II opponent Heritage High School. After a slow start, the Lady ‘Cats came out on top, beating the Lady Mountaineers in four sets (23-25, 25-21, 25-7, 25-14). “This was a really big win for our program,” said Lady Wildcat Head Coach Dave Kolodney. “Not only did we bounce back after the disappointing finish on Saturday, but we were able to beat a team who has given us trouble recently.” Last year, Oak Ridge split a pair of matches with Heritage, but Heritage was the eventual Region II champion that earned their bid to the State Tournament. “We played smart volleyball and were committed to doing the little things right,” continued Kolodney. “We made an adjustment to our blocking after that really let us down against Maryville, and we had our best match of the season at the net.” Not only did the Wildcats have the best blocking night of the season, they also eclipsed the previous all-time record of seven total blocks set back in 2017. Oak Ridge set the new mark at 12 Total Blocks. “All our starters had at least 1 block tonight and we were paced by Brenna [Allred] who had seven,” Kolodney said. “This is a great confidence boost as we get closer to the playoffs.” Lynley Baldwin was named Player of the Match for her 15 Kills at 54% Kills, and her ability to handle Heritage’s serves as they were targeting her throughout the night. “I’m proud of the way they hung in after losing the first set. They could have packed it in, but came out swinging in the second and didn’t let up the rest of the way,” Kolodney finished. “That’s the mental toughness that we have been lacking in the past that I have seen throughout this season.
The busy week continues as Oak Ridge travels to Halls on Tuesday, hosts Maryville on Thursday, and will participate in the Courtside at Concord tournament on Saturday. Oak Ridge improves to 22-3 on the season and remains undefeated in District 4-AAA play (9-0).
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