Lady Owls, Bucs advance to state

Ooltewah honored Elaine Peigen on Thursday for her 20 years of service as the Lady Owls' volleyball coach. But Peigen said the TSSAA Class AAA state-sectional match against Siegel was so grueling, she wasn't sure if she was going to make it long enough to go for 21 next season.

The Lady Owls still have more left this season after defeating the Lady Stars 3-2. Set scores were 11-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-22, 15-13.

Ooltewah (35-18) advances to next week's state tournament in Murfreesboro.

Bradley Central was eliminated 3-1 in another Class AAA sectional at Columbia Central. The Bearettes were serving on set point with a chance to send it to a fifth, but Columbia prevailed 25-10, 19-25, 25-20, 28-26.

Peigen said her players "looked like they played scared" in the first set.

"We got into some good rallies after that," she said. "They started making some errors. We started hitting and passing better. It still took five. They have a good team. They're quick."

The coach said there was a good turnout of other coaches, former players and parents at her celebration.

"It was real special," Peigen said. "I was surprised."

Leondra Barrett led the Lady Owls with 16 kills and Courtney Ison had nine blocks. Izabela Zdunek had a team-high 14 digs, and Kelsey Chernak led with 30 assists.

Class A

Boyd-Buchanan defeated Jackson County 3-0 at Arts & Sciences on Thursday in a Class A state sectional, advancing the Lady Buccaneers to next week's state tournament. Set scores were 25-18, 25-23, 25-23.

Friendship Christian ended Sale Creek's season 3-0 in a sectional at Lebanon. Set scores were 25-21, 25-18, 25-18.

Boyd-Buchanan coach Ashley Rose said knowing little about Jackson County meant making adjustments along the way, which is the way she's expecting things to be the rest of the season.

"Jackson County played so fast," Rose said. "We haven't played anybody that could rally that long with us. You'd hit it over and it was right back at you before you knew it."

Rose praised the effort by Maddy Howard, who led the team with 18 kills. Katie Delay led with 28 digs, and Kristen Reynolds and Lindsey Yates had 24 assists apiece.

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