And then there were three.

The volleyball playoffs started last Saturday and three local teams have moved on to the semifinals in their respective classifications.

In the AAAA volleyball sectionals, Whitewater won the first match against St. Pius, but lost the next three, 16-25, 25-15, 25-17, 25-20. St. Pius advanced to the final four, as did McIntosh and Starr’s Mill.

McIntosh opened with a win over North Springs and followed it with wins over Sequoyah and Northwest Whitfield, 25-9, 25-18, 25-19.
Standouts for the Lady Chiefs were middle hitter Elyse Chubb and setter and co-captain Kendall Wilde.

“Elyse was a dominant force both offensively with her powerful hits and defensively with her strong blocking, while Wilde ran the offense with control and precision,” said coach Wendy Weaver. “The girls are looking strong and healthy. They are really peaking at the right time and we are so excited about this Thursday’s semifinal match against Woodward.”

Starr’s Mill (48-3), ranked number one in AAAA, advanced to the final four with wins over Tucker, 25-12, 25-13, 25-8, Dalton, 25-18, 25-18, 25-6, and Dacula, 25-10, 25-15, 25-16.

McIntosh (39-10), ranked number two, will take on Woodward Academy (38-18), ranked third in AAAA, at 5 p.m. at Marist on Thursday, while Starr’s Mill will take on St. Pius (33-23), ranked fifth at Marist at 7 p.m. The finals will take place on Saturday at Marietta High School.

In Class AAA, Sandy Creek (42-12), ranked third in Class AAA, handily defeated last year’s state volleyball champs, Blessed Trinity, in the best of five matches, 25-23, 25-20, 25-20, to advance to the final four for the second year in a row. The Creek team had defeated Harlem, 25-9, 25-13, 25-6) and Hardaway (25-11, 25-20, 25-20) earlier in the day for the chance to play the reigning state champs.

“They (Harlem and Hardaway) fought hard,” said junior setter and right-side hitter Kyndall Dye, “but we knew what we were playing for. There was no way we were leaving there without playing Blessed Trinity.”

Reveling in the win over Blessed Trinity, Coach Paul Collins said, “…there was never any doubt who was going to come out on top in the minds of any of the Patriot players. They played like they owned the place. It was an amazing display of confidence and teamwork.”

Sandy Creek will take on Westminster (34-14), ranked fourth in AAAA, at 5 p.m. Thursday at Woodstock. The winner will meet the winner of the Columbus/Oconee County match.

Landmark Christian defeated Temple to open the AA/A sectionals but lost to Holy Innocents 25-22, 25-13, 27-25.

login to post comments