Soddy-Daisy's Lady Trojans volleyball team try for final goal

photo Rachel Shaughnessy, left, and Kelsey Nunley of Soddy-Daisy High School reach to block Ooltewah during the district championship game.

The seniors on Soddy-Daisy's volleyball team have been perfect with their future predictions since arriving at the school. It will be known by the end of this week if it winds up that way.

Coach Lorri Johnson said the six Lady Trojans remaining from the group of 12 or 13 who came to the program four years ago have set goals since the day they arrived, and one by one they've fulfilled them.

"First off we told her we were going to go undefeated as freshmen," senior libero Sarah Davis said. "By our junior year we said we were going to state. Everything we said has happened. Now winning state is the next goal."

Soddy-Daisy (50-9) has earned its way back to the TSSAA Class AAA state tournament. The Lady Trojans' path toward the title in the double-elimination format at Murfreesboro begins at 2:30 EDT Wednesday afternoon at Middle Tennessee State University's Murphy Center.

Soddy-Daisy's state-tournament berth last year was its first in a long time. This year's Lady Trojans repeated as District 6 and Region 3 champions, and again their opening-round opponent will be Independence (35-13), a school not far from Murfreesboro that beat them a year ago.

"We got intimidated," Davis said. "It was like their fans were right on top of us. It was nerve-racking."

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Hayli Raines, a powerful hitter now at Tennessee Tech, and Jessica Smith are key graduation losses off last year's team, but the many more who return are now state-tournament tested. Davis and classmates Olivia Holden and Rachel Shaughnessy agreed they won't feel nervous or threatened this time around.

"We're more of a full team," Holden said. "Before, we depended so much on Hayli."

As the setter, Holden has an array of hitters to look toward, including fellow seniors Kelsey Nunley (449 kills) and Rebecca Johnson (231). Most notable among them is Shaughnessy, whose 585 kills leads the team, as do her 139 blocks and 104 aces.

Davis said: "We've got to make good passes to Olivia so she can do what she does," to which Holden quickly replied, "That's so Rachel can do what she does."

Davis leads the Lady Trojans with 867 digs, and many of those have led to Holden's 1,192 assists.

"The hitter is the one that usually gets credit," Shaughnessy said. "For me, whenever I get a kill, I look at the whole picture. It takes the pass, the set, everything combined."

Megan Ware is the other senior and a key contributor defensively along the back row and as a server.

Coach Johnson said what she's most proud about her seniors is how they've put forth extra efforts, from offseason workouts to supporting the underclassmen.

"Team chemistry is excellent," the coach said. "We still have our moody moments, but I like the way this bunch has taken the young ones under their wing and mentored them. They've helped a lot when it's come to calming nerves. I think the leadership has been excellent."

As a result, the roles of freshmen Hannah Robertson and Lauren Smith have significantly increased as the season has gone on.

"They're a lot better than we were as freshmen," Shaughnessy said.

Because the seniors need help to reach their final goal, they'll settle for their younger teammates just maintaining the level of play that's helped get the team this far. Whether Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, they'll be taking off their Soddy-Daisy uniforms for the final time.

"I don't really want to think about it yet," Davis said. "We're coming to the end, I guess, so we've got to think about it at some time. But right now all we're thinking about is this is our last few matches, and we've got to give it everything we have."

Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653.

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