On the surface, today’s prep volleyball match between host Soddy-Daisy and Chattanooga Christian School looks like any ordinary nondistrict match.
But when examining the coaching matchup, there are more subplots than in a daytime TV drama.
Sarah Davis, who played at Soddy-Daisy, is the first-year coach for CCS. Libby Peigen, Soddy-Daisy’s second-year head coach, knows a thing or two about returning home and trying to beat her old school. She played for her mother, Elaine, at Ooltewah, which before neighboring East Hamilton was built was clearly Soddy-Daisy’s biggest rival.
“I love Soddy-Daisy,” Peigen said. “It feels like home to me. I don’t have plans of leaving it anytime soon.”
With the Lady Trojans playing Ooltewah at least twice a year as District 5-AAA rivals, the younger Davis was aware of Peigen in high school.
“I knew her,” Davis said. “She was a big player at Ooltewah; a defensive specialist and an outside hitter. I don’t think she really knew me.”
Peigen confirmed she didn’t know Davis then. But they got to know each other as teammates at Lee University.
Both were liberos/defensive specialists at Lee. They were even roommates for a semester when Peigen was a senior and Davis was a sophomore.
“She was great as a roommate,” Peigen said. “She always had my sweet tooth covered.”
Both had aspirations of becoming physical education teachers and coaches. The two had classes together. They did homework together.
After Peigen graduated, her first high school coaching job was as an assistant at East Hamilton. A year later, she was hired to take over at Soddy-Daisy.
Since being hired at CCS, Davis has initiated most of the phone calls between the two.
“She’s asked me a lot of questions,” Peigen said. “I have my mom to talk to if I have a question about coaching. She doesn’t have that within her family. I appreciate that she does reach out to me.”
Said Davis: “Any questions I’ve had she’s gladly helped. She’s helped me out a lot this season while I’ve tried to get my footing, kind of like what she did last year. She’s helped me with a lot of the stuff that she went through.”
Plans are for the Lady Trojans and Lady Chargers to continue playing yearly as long as Peigen and Davis are coaching them. And for this first matchup, can the understudy look for a little compassion from her mentor in her return trip home?
“Not at all,” Peigen said.
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter @KelleySmiddie.