The Sandy Creek Patriots volleyball team won another major Atlanta tournament this past weekend, this one hosted by Blessed Trinity High School. The Patriots were the only undefeated team in the tournament, posting an 8-0 record for the tournament win.

Creek defeated Northwest Whitfield (25-18, 20-25, 25-20) and St. Pius (26-24, 25-17) on Friday night, then returned Saturday to post wins against: Chamblee (25-21, 25-21), Roswell (25-12, 25-18), McIntosh (25-20, 25-17), Oconee (25-17, 25-15), Blessed Trinity (25-18, 23-25, 25-17).

Creek had to face Northwest Whitfield once again in the finals and handily defeated them (25-22, 25-18).

“This was a big win for us,” said Creek coach Paul Collins. “The girls have really come together and are playing well. They came back from behind several times on Saturday and finished strong."

“We decided on the way up there that we were going to win this one,” said Creek senior outside hitter Katie Davenport. “There was never any doubt. All of the teams we played were really strong but we were able to show what we can do. It is a very nice feeling to play that well and win the whole tournament.”

Creek posted some impressive stats by tournament end. Leading the offense were the setters: junior Estefania Diaz had 77 assists while senior Cheri Smith, who was battling an illness, finished with 38 assists for the day. Freshman setter Samantha Bryan contributed an impressive 68 assists.

Senior outside hitters Jennifer Dunn and Katie Davenport also stood out, finishing with 61 and 47 kills, respectively.

Sophomore middle hitter Danielle Walker-Smith posted 43 kills while her twin sister Chanelle contributed 38 kills. Smith finished the tournament with 36 kills, hitting from right side.
Blocking was a key factor in Creek’s success as well.

The Smith sisters were absolutely unstoppable in the middle. Danielle contributed an amazing 13.5 blocks for the day while Chanelle finished with 8.5 blocks. Maribeth Farr finished strong with 5.5 blocks.

The Creek defense was amazing as well. Senior libero Mallie Haumann, currently ranked number one in the state of Georgia for digs, contributed 65 digs for the day, Dunn finished with 45 and Davenport contributed 41.

Service aces were another key factor in the wins. The Patriots posted an impressive 51 total un-returnable serves. Chanelle Walker-Smith contributed 15 of those aces, while Samantha Bryan finished with 13. Davenport had nine aces and Dunn and Danielle Walker-Smith each had 5.

The Lady Patriots will not see their schedule ease up any. They are scheduled to travel to Northgate on Tuesday to play McIntosh and Northgate. On Thursday, they will head up to Blessed Trinity to face Etowah and Blessed Trinity.

Next week, Creek will travel to Marist to face a very strong Wesleyan team before playing Marist, currently ranked number one in AAAA ball. On October 11, Creek will host Kennesaw Mountain and 2007 state champions Columbus.

Whitewater’s Lady Wildcats went undefeated in the tournament they attended over the weekend. They played in the Conyers Classic and defeated Heritage Conyers (25-18, 25-18), East Coweta (25-18, 25-22), Ola (25-16, 25-21), Lee County (26-24, 25-16), Hart County (25-16, 25-14), Northgate (28-26, 20-25, 25-19) and Habersham Central (25-17, 25-18).

Whitewater will play at Landmark Christian on Thursday.

Starr’s Mill played in the Blessed Trinity tournament and went 4-2. The Lady Panthers lost to Milton (25-14, 25-15) and McIntosh (26-24, 21-25, 25-27), but defeated Sequoyah (24-26, 25-20, 25-23), North Forsyth (25-19, 25-19), Blessed Trinity (13-25, 25-20, 25-18) and Oconee County (25-21, 26-24).

Starr’s Mill is off this week.

McIntosh went 3-4 in the tournament, with wins over Starr’s Mill, St. Pius and Roswell and losses to Northwest Whitfield (27-25, 25-21 and 25-13, 25-18), Chamblee (25-23, 26-23) and Sandy Creek.

Senior Katie Briggs had 70 kills on the tournament to increase her season kills to 292, while junior Libero Catherine Lane added 71 digs on the tournament to increase her season digs to 312.

Junior setter Betsy Kelsch had 21 assists in the tournament to increase her season assists to 510.

The Lady Chiefs will host Jonesboro this Thursday on Senior Night.

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