No. 2 Southeast wins 3-0, reaches state semifinals

Friday, January 1, 1904

VolleyballGHSA Class AAAA state quarterfinalSOUTHEAST WHITFIELD 3,WOODLAND HENRY 0Southeast 25 25 25Woodland Henry 15 21 21Highlights: SEW -- Megan Collins 13 k, 15 d; Hannah Graham 27 a, 14 d; McKayla Burse 12 d; Wendy Perez 11 k; Yasmeen Paloblanco 7 d. Records: Southeast Whitfield 37-10; Woodland Henry 39-4.GHSA Class AAA quarterfinalST. PIUS X 3, SONORAVILLE 0St. Pius X 25 25 25Sonoraville 19 9 21Highlights: S -- Bre Horner 6 a, 10 d; Carrie Cheeks 8 k, 3 d; Kristi Vaughn 4 k, 2 b, 13 a, 6 d; Nikki Eitutis 15 d; Savannah Wilbanks 3 k, 17 d; Jennilee Gentry 4 b, 5 d; Haley Ponder 3 k. Record: Sonoraville 38-10.

Host and No. 2-ranked Southeast Whitfield played in front of another spirited home crowd Saturday and defeated No. 5-ranked Woodland-Henry 3-0 in a Class AAAA quarterfinal in the GHSA state volleyball tournament at Dalton. Set scores were 25-15, 25-21, 25-21.

With the victory, Southeast (37-10) broke the season school record it set last year and is advancing to a semifinal for the first time. The Lady Raiders will take on top-ranked Sandy Creek at Marist on Wednesday.

Hannah Graham, the assists leader with 27, was the first server and helped Southeast to a 6-0 start. Woodland-Henry (39-4) didn't recover.

"We played really well," Southeast coach Jake Dickey said. "I think our crowd got in their heads. I don't know if they were ready to play a tough match. They probably didn't play as well as they had been.

"We played great defense and didn't make a whole lot of mistakes. We were hitting our locations with our serves.

Megan Collins topped the Lady Raiders with 13 kills and 15 digs. Wendy Perez helped with 11 kills. Graham contributed 14 digs and McKayla Burse chipped in with 12.

Phoenix end 38-10

The most successful season in Sonoraville history came to an end at Atlanta with a 3-0 loss to host and third-ranked St. Pius X in the Class AAA state tournament. Set scores 25-19, 25-9, 25-21.

Carrie Cheeks paced the sixth-ranked Lady Phoenix with eight kills and fellow junior Kristi Vaughn led with 13 assists. The team's seniors are Jennilee Gentry, who led them with four blocks, and Nikki Eitutis, whose 15 digs were second only to freshman Savannah Wilbanks' 17.

"We never gave up," Sonoraville interim coach Trace Vaughn said. "They knew we were there. They jumped over the top of our blocks. They also had overall team speed. We've never played anybody that fast.

"We played with a lot of heart. We had a very resilient team. I could not be more proud of their effort and attitude."

Sonoraville (38-10) set a season school record for victories. It also won the Area 4 championship and advanced to the GHSA super six for the first time.