Lady Irish 9-18 in volleyball but can win district

photo Ted Hackett

Notre Dame High School is 9-18 in volleyball following Monday's wins over East Ridge and Red Bank. And although that might seem like a disappointing season, it could still end up a championship one for the Lady Irish.

Notre Dame travels to Sequatchie County today to play the Lady Indians and Bledsoe County in District 7-AA matches. If the Lady Irish (5-1 in 7-AA) win those, they could earn the district regular-season championship with a victory Thursday at Chattanooga Christian.

Notre Dame has split with Signal Mountain this season, and a Lady Irish loss this week would leave the Lady Eagles as the No. 1 seed for the district tournament, provided Signal wins Thursday at Sequatchie County. The top-seeded team will be the tournament host.

The Lady Irish put themselves in position for the title by beating Signal Mountain and CCS on Sept. 18 and 19.

"I'd say we've improved since the beginning of the season," Notre Dame coach Ted Hackett said. "Those are two very good teams, and getting those victories in that manner was a big boost for our team."

Two weeks ago Sale Creek (6-A) and Ooltewah (5-AAA) became the first area teams to clinch district regular-season titles this season. Last week Boyd-Buchanan (5-A) and Red Bank (6-AA) secured top seedings for their tournaments. Postseason play begins Monday for some area TSSAA Division I teams and Tuesday for others.

SBA holds fundraiser

Silverdale Baptist Academy is holding its second Driven to Give fundraiser benefiting the Lady Seahawks softball program.

Fifteen new Lincoln vehicles will be available for test drives Friday at Silverdale's athletic parking lot from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mountain View Ford will donate $20 to the SBA softball program for each driver who participates. Free door prizes are also available.

Register at silverdalebaptistacademy.com/www/docs/188.155 or at the site.

Gordon Lee rising

With the postseason in Georgia prep softball approaching, Gordon Lee finds itself in an unusual situation. Despite a 20-win season, the defending Class A public school champion is ranked just third in the latest power rankings, which figure in wins against teams from higher classifications.

The Lady Trojans figure to move up this week after a 1-0 win over Class AA power Calhoun last Thursday, especially considering the Lady Yellow Jackets also have 20 wins, giving the Lady Trojans 20 bonus points. Gordon Lee, which will be the top seed in the Region 6-A tournament next week, can likely move to the top of the rankings with a win over Class AAAAA Pope, which is likely to have 19 wins when the teams meet Wednesday.

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