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smdad

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  1. In 5 separate trips with 2 daughters (and 2 different schools) over a 7 year period, I saw the tourney run 4 different ways. They finally settled on this goofy format. IMO the best format was one year where there were 2 pools of 4 teams and round robins were played on wednesday, the teams were seeded based on the pool play, and then played single elimination. The worst may have been the next year when only the top 2 from each pool played in the single elim tourney. In one pool three teams went 2-1, and one went 0-3 . They flipped a coin to see which team was eliminated (not my daughter's school, but our rival). This most recent format started 3 or 4 years ago. The coaches must be ok with it because it hasn't changed, but I think it is silly.
  2. No arguments with your list at all. I've said it before, but to make Junior happy I'll say it again: Soddy is head and shoulders above everybody on this list. Good luck to all of the Chattanooga teams named above (including Red Bank, even though I really want SMHS to win and go on to State), and Boyd Buch needs to be added as they will also play in Substate on Thursday night. That's a nice list with 10 out of 10 from Hamilton County going on to Substate. 2 of the 10 will knock each other out, but it would be great to have 8 County teams going to State. It's going to be tough for any of the Chattanooga teams to bring back the Gold. AAA will have some really strong teams, AA has Page and Goodpasture (and I have read some good things about CAK, but have never seen them), A has Friendship Christian and DII has two tough teams in St. Agnes and Ensworth, plus GPS has to travel to Memphis just to make it to State.
  3. Page and Goodpasture are both really good, but thankfully the Chattanooga teams won't have to see them until State. They are Region 5 teams. I still think East Hamilton might make some noise in District 6, but agree it probably is Hixson and RB. I also agree it will be very difficult for Chattanooga to have two teams from Single A go to State after watching Friendship Christian in the MidTenn this weekend, but hope Boyd or Silverdale will get there.
  4. A bittersweet night last night as Signal Mountain celebrated senior night, and my direct involvement in high school volleyball for seven of the last eight years nears a close, because my youngest daughter is a senior this year. It was a good night as Signal shook of some poor play from earlier in the week, and beat Baylor three games to one. A shout out to all of the Eagle seniors, who came in as freshman and have played since the beginning of the program: Callie Hildebrand, Laura Powell, Allie Jennings, Carly Jonakin and Maggie Garth. With the regular season coming to a close, I had thought about an updated Chattanooga top 10. After the top team (Soddy in a landslide), it gets really tough: 1. Soddy-Daisy 2. Baylor 3. Red Bank 4. Ooltewah 5. Notre Dame 6. GPS 7. East Hamilton 8. Signal Mt 9. Walker Valley 10. Hixson Next week is District Tournament Time. Even though upsets are always a possibility, the most interesting tournament should be 6-AA, as one of Red Bank, East Hamilton and Hixson doesn't advance to Regionals, and that three way contest is to close to call.
  5. Here goes a stab on an update of the area top 10 - most of the weekend tournaments are over, and teams are trying to finalize rotations. Signal tried a new one tonight, but still lost in 4 to Red Bank 25-20, 25-15, 20 24 and 25-23. Red Bank's middle is just a junior and plays better every time I see her. As for the Top 10, how about this: 1. Soddy-Daisy 2. Baylor 3. GPS 4. Ooltewah 5. Red Bank 6. Walker Valley 7. East Hamilton 8. Signal Mt 9. Notre Dame 10. Sale Creek It's going to get real interesting in a couple of weeks when District and Region play start, especially in AA. Out of District 6AA only two of Red Bank, Hixson and East Hamilton go to Regions, and East Ridge showed last year they could sneak in there as well, but they will have to start playing a lot better to get there. In District 7AA it should be Signal and Notre Dame, but CCS pulled the upset against Signal earlier this year. In District 5A it is wide open, as I saw where Silverdale beat Boyd last night. In District 6A, Sale Creek is the clear favorite.
  6. I'm glad you created the top 10 list, because I was struggling with it (and I didn't want Coach JJ to get mad at me). I think it probably is about right, except that East Hamilton probably needs to be ahead of Signal after the thrashing they gave us this week. Also, Hixson is really close to being on this list. I'm not sure if you are a GPS follower, but Signal and GPS had a great match tonight - lots of hard hitting and 3 close games. We had GPS on the ropes by winning the first game 25-22 and jumping out to a lead in game 2, but GPS fought back to take the second game 29-27. GPS had played Hixson earlier in the night, so the teams played a best of 3, but played the third game to 25, and GPS jumped out early and held on to take it 25-22. This should be a fun weekend at the Tandem, with most every team from Hamilton County and Bradley County participating; unfortunately, SMHS is sitting this one out after playing in tournaments for the past 3 weekends.
  7. Congratulations to GPS for the win at the Choo Choo. GPS has made huge strides since the preseason playdays. With that victory, the top ten has an entirely new look: 1. GPS - Even though Soddy beat them earlier in the week, the Choo Choo win moves them to the top for now. 2. Baylor - A toss-up with Soddy for this spot, but their head to head win at the Choo Choo puts them one spot up. 3. Soddy-Daisy - After a great start to the season, a little hiccup with the loss to Baylor, and two losses to Farragut. I expect them to regroup and move back up the list. 4. Ooltewah - Still haven't got to see them play, but they made it to the Gold Round of the Choo Choo. 5. Walker Valley - Made it to the Gold at the Choo Choo, but lost in the first round to GPS. 6. Signal Mountain - Defeated Red Bank at the Choo Choo, but suffered a District loss to CCS earlier in the week. 7. Bradley Central - Also made the Gold Round at the Choo Choo. 8. Hixson - 9. Sale Creek - Even though they didn't make it to the Gold at Choo Choo, they had a nice win over Red Bank. 10. Red Bank
  8. Just got back from the first round of the Choo Choo Gold Bracket. Signal went 4-2 in pool play (2 games in the hot box yesterday), and qualified for the Gold Bracket. The Eagles lost in the first round of the Gold to Sullivan South. Signal led in the first game 24-20, but couldn't finish the game, and SS cruised in the second game 15-25. In other Gold Bracket action, Baylor defeated Walker Valley in 2 straight, GPS beat Father Ryan in 3 games, and Dobyns Bennett defeated Bradley County. Didn't stay around to get any other scores. The word was GPS was playing very well in the tournament. In pool play this morning, the top seeded teams at Red Bank played some fantastic volleyball, with Farragut coming out on top over Baylor, Soddy and Sequoyah (out of Georgia). One of the best matches was Baylor vs. Soddy. Soddy jumped out to a 13-0 lead in game 1, but Baylor won game 2 decisively, and then took game 3 in a thriller to hand Soddy its first loss of the year. Look forward to getting more reports from the tournament.
  9. A bit of a slow week in Chattanooga area volleyball as far as match-ups between the top tier teams, at least until the weekend and the Choo Choo kicks off. Tonight's games include a lot of district contests such as Ooltewah at Bradley Central, Grace at Boyd Buchanan, and Signal at CCS. Wednesday provides the best slate of matches as the top teams in District 6AAA take on Division II, when Soddy goes to GPS, and Walker Valley goes to Baylor. Last night Signal defeated Silverdale in three straight sets, and Sale Creek knocked East Hamilton from the ranks of the unbeaten.
  10. Congratulations to Soddy on winning the Early Bird in Knoxville. The Trojans looked really strong in the final game of the tournament, with fantastic front court play, defense and setting. After the first week, a common thread among the top teams has been an experienced setter. Soddy has at least one in Olivia Holden (I'm not sure who else sets for them, but some of the time they were running a 6-2), Ooltewah has one, and Walker Valley has one. Updated top ten based on the first week of play, with an emphasis on head to head matchups: 1. Soddy-Daisy - Strong week with wins over Ooltewah, Walker Valley and Anderson County. 2. Walker Valley - Finished in the top 4 at the Early Bird, with wins over GPS and Signal. Senior Setter Caitlyn Geren had a great match against Signal. 3. Ooltewah - Haven't got to see them play, but they beat GPS during the week. They also have a senior setting for them (Loren Bennett), which should add stability to their team. 4. GPS - Showed a lot of heart by defeating Baylor in Knoxville after dropping the first game 25-12. 5. Baylor - A good first week, including going undefeated in pool play at the Early Bird, but the loss to Baylor drops them for now. 6. Signal Mountain - A fun match with Notre Dame early in the week, but a couple of disappointing losses in the gold bracket at the Early Bird. Another highlight was beating last years AAA runner up, Dobyns Bennett. 7. Hixson - Won a 5 game match with Sale Creek early in the week, and was the only team to take a game off of Soddy at the Early Bird. 8. Sale Creek 9. Red Bank 10. Notre Dame This week concludes with the Choo Choo tournament hosted by East Ridge and Red Bank. There is likely to be a reshuffling in the Top Ten based on the results of the Choo Choo. As for East Hamilton, it is a AA school in its third year of existence. It is coached by Christy Lenoir, who had been at Boyd Buchanan before starting with East Hamilton 3 years ago. East Hamilton has a lot of girls that have played club ball, but being a new school, do not have many seniors on the team.
  11. The win by Soddy was not a big suprise. With the exception of Baylor, I don't think any team from the Chattanooga area will beat Soddy this year, and I'm not sure Baylor will beat them. They're pretty big across the front lines, and the couple of times I've watched them play they've been very consistent with their passing game. After those two teams I think it will be a toss up this year for how the rest of the teams will finish. I have not had the chance to see Ooltewah play this year, but I do know they are relyihng on several girls who have not had a lot of varsity experience. Of the teams you listed, Boyd and CCS are down quite a bit from where they were in the past two years. I think the teams that should be added to your list are Hixson and Notre Dame. Soddy, Baylor, GPS, Signal, Hixson and Walker Valley are all playing in the Early Bird this weekend, and I know a lot of the other local teams are playing in the Bradley Bash (by the way, Bradley Central beat Cleveland last night, and I can't recall that happening in the past few years). I may try to re-rank teams after this weekend's action.
  12. Monday Night Scores: Hixson won a 5 game thriller over Sales Creek, 25-22, 21-25, 20, 25, 26-24 and 17-15 Soddy defeated Red Bank in 4 games, 25-24, 12- 25, 25-17, 25 - 15. East Hamilton defeated CCS in 3 games Signal defeated Bledsoe County in 3 games Baylor defeated Boyd in 3 games Tuesday Night's lineup is highlighted by GPS at Ooltewah and Cleveland at Walker Valley, and also includes the following matches: East Ridge, Howard at Brainerd Tyner at East Hamilton Silverdale, Baylor at Hixon Signal Mountain at Notre Dame Marion Co. at Sale Creek Rhea Co. at Soddy-Daisy Cleveland at Walker Valley Red Bank at Boyd-Buchanan
  13. The season kicks off tonight with several good matches around the area. Having had girls playing at the varsity level since the fall of 2004, it's a bittersweet start as my youngest takes the court to begin her senior year. Tonight's slate includes several good matches, highlighted by Soddy at Red Bank. Other matches include: Boyd-Buchanan at Baylor Sale Creek at Hixson East Hamilton at CCS Bledsoe Co. at Signal Mountain After viewing pre-season play, and thinking about the strenghts of the various teams, including the return of injured players, following is a Chattanooga area top ten based on where I expect the teams to finish by the end of the year. In updating the top ten, the key criterion will be head to head matchups. 1. Soddy-Daisy - dominated the pre-season playdays. Should be a top 4 team in AAA. 2. Baylor - some inconcistency during the playdays, but waiting on a couple of players to heal. A great chance to win it all in D-II. 3. Signal Mountain - I'm a homer. They move up to AA, but should play in Murfreesboro. 4. GPS - If the defense and passing come around, they will be very strong. They have hitters. 5. Sale Creek - The favorite to be A Champions. 6. Ooltewah 7. Walker Valley 8. Red Bank 9. Hixson 10. Notre Dame Five of the teams from this group will compete in the Early Bird Tournament in Knoxville this weekend, and I imagine all of them will be in the Choo Choo the following weekend. This list will sort itself out in a hurry.
  14. TSWA All-State Volleyball CLASS A Coach of the year: Jennifer Redman, Signal Mountain Outside hitter: Rachel Harper, Boyd-Buchanan; Callie Hildebrand, Signal Mountain; Kaitlyn Teeter, Friendship Christian; Kennedy Wade, Grace Christian; Jordana Sands, Madison; Shelby Crenshaw, TCA Setter: Georgia Paturalski, Signal Mountain; Katie Buchanan, Madison Academic; Alex Guelli, North Greene Middle hitter: Ali Burroughs, Friendship Christian CLASS AA Coach of the year: Jessica Enderle, Page Outside hitter: Kalyn Helton, Red Bank; Teresa Slade, CAK; Bekah Wolford, Carter; Lakin Pratt, Carter; Molly Locke, Page; Sarah Fulner, Goodpasture Middle hitter: Rachel Hill, Alcoa; Maelyn Cutshaw, South Greene Setter: Lauren Lewis, Dyersburg; Taylor McGuire, Page CLASS AAA Coach of the year: Tracey Berry, Ravenwood Outside hitter: Hayli Raines, Soddy-Daisy; Ashley Ferris, Karns; Brooke Faulkner, Siegel; Scarlett Gable, Munford; Madelyn Hutson, Ravenwood; Kristi Bowlin, Morristown West Middle hitter: Kelsey Handel, Karns; Caroline Carlton, Independence; Lauren Kaufman, Brentwood Setter: Alyssa Ivey, Ravenwood; Caroline Gay, Siegel Libero: Payton Tipton, Cleveland DIVISION II Coach of the year: Eva Lea, Ensworth Outside hitter: Abby Orr, USJ; Hannah Kurtz, St. Benedict; Rejean Rouse, Ensworth; Devan Porter, St. Agnes Middle hitter: Nicole Sumida, Baylor; Stephanie Biggs, Knoxville Webb; Hannah Everett, St. George’s; Shannon Carr, Father Ryan Libero: Katelyn Armstrong, Baylor; Lindsey Purvis, Briarcrest; Mackinnon Morrissey, Ensworth Setter: Shelby Anderton, ECS; Amy Matula, St. George’s While there may be arguments about some of the positions, what I cannot understand is how no one from Dobyns-Bennett made the team. I don't know the names of any of the girls on that team, but I would like to think some sports writers from around the State could have learned the names of the girls from the team that was the second best team in the State.
  15. I heard the All-State teams will be announced tomorrow, February 9.
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