Lady Trojans Sarah Davis and Rachel Shaughnessy to play for Lee University

Friday, January 1, 1904

photo Soddy-Daisy's Rachel Shaughnessy spikes the ball past Ooltewah's Leondra Barrett (3) in this 2010 photo.
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Soddy-Daisy volleyball players Sarah Davis and Rachel Shaughnessy made commitments recently to coaches Andrea and Kevin Hudson and will continue their athletic careers at Lee University.

"I just really liked how the campus was so open," said Davis, a defensive specialist who leads the Lady Trojans with 403 digs. "It's still kind of small and a very good Christian environment. The coaches are just amazing and so kind. It felt like home."

Shaughnessy, whose brother Patrick plays basketball for Lee, is Soddy-Daisy's leader at the net with 260 kills and 72 blocks. She also leads the team with 48 aces, and Davis is next with 40.

"I love the campus," Shaughnessy said. "I've known the coaches there since my freshman year. I was pretty certain where I wanted to go, and they offered early. I wanted to sign before the end of my high school career."

Davis and Shaughnessy helped Soddy-Daisy earn a state-tournament berth last year, and the Lady Trojans currently sit atop the District 5-AAA standings. They won the Early Bird tournament in the Knoxville area earlier this season.

The two also helped the Choo Choo City Volleyball's 17 Black team place ninth in an AAU national tournament. It's the organization's highest national finish to date.

Gordon Lee win-win

Gordon Lee's volleyball team held a breast-cancer awareness fundraiser Monday when it hosted and defeated Coahulla Creek and Darlington in Area 7-A/AA matches.

"We had a good crowd," Gordon Lee coach Ed Clendenen said. "We've got to pay the bills, but I think we're going to be right in the $3,000 range. It went real well."

The Lady Trojans' match against Darlington was for first place in the league standings. Sarah Holder had nine kills and Rachel Darr had 17 digs in a 25-20, 25-19 victory.

Gordon Lee (16-2, 5-0), which plays today at Heritage, travels to Sonoraville on Thursday with first place in the area again on the line.

Rise rise for Baylor

The Baylor girls' soccer team rose three spots in the ESPN Rise national ranking after defeating then top-ranked Strongsville (Ohio) in a tournament two weekends ago. The Lady Red Raiders (7-1) moved up to No. 24 -- one place behind Zionsville (Ind)., the team that handed Baylor its only loss.

Statewide, the Lady Red Raiders are ranked No. 1 in Division II-AA, while GPS (6-1) is ranked third. In Class A/AA, six of the 11 teams are from the Chattanooga area: Notre Dame (2-5) is second, Chattanooga Christian (6-2-1) third, Signal Mountain (2-1) seventh, McMinn Central (5-1-1) eighth, Grace (5-2) ninth and East Hamilton (2-4) 10th.

Soddy-Daisy (4-1-1) is seventh in AAA.

Lady Chargers strong

Chattanooga Christian soccer coach Cal Sneller expected his third-ranked Lady Chargers to come out lethargic in the championship game of their tournament Saturday -- their third game in two days. They did the opposite.

The Lady Chargers built a three-goal advantage and cruised to a 4-1 victory over Science Hill in the Gold Division final. Class AAA Maryville won the Blue Division, defeating A/AA McMinn Central 3-0 in their final.

Kruesi Brock, Natalie Thedford, Hannah Henry and Anna Hoffman had goals for CCS.

"I thought we put together a good few games," Sneller said. "We had the right energy; it was a good, physical game. It was frustrating for the girls to get one scored on them, but I thought they did a good job overall."

McMinn Central defeated Anderson County 2-0 and Boyd-Buchanan 3-0 during the tournament. The Lady Bucs (5-3) took fourth in the Gold Division after falling 3-0 to Knoxville Catholic. They defeated Tullahoma 2-0 in the first round.

Grace Academy took sixth in the Blue Division, falling 4-1 to Maryville before defeating Powell 3-1 in the consolation bracket. The Lady Golden Eagles fell 2-0 to Shelbyville in the consolation final.

"I knew this would be a tough tournament for us," Grace coach Gretchen Hammel said. "It was a good opportunity to see where we need to improve and what we need to work on."

CCS loses Fortmiller

CCS senior Jennifer Fortmiller will miss the rest of the season after tearing an ACL in a collision with two players in a game against Soddy-Daisy recently. Fortmiller had two goals and two assists in four games.

"Initially, it was hard for the girls; you saw the immediate letdown when it happened," Sneller said, "but I think the girls are comfortable in their new roles."

Sneller said Fortmiller will have surgery soon and start her rehabilitation..