Lady Bruins get volleyball tri-match sweep

photo Northwest Whitfield's McKinley Hopkins (28) and Lindsey Roberts (10) block an attempted spike from a Heritage player Wednesday at Northwest Whitfield High School.

TUNNEL HILL, Ga. - The Region 7-AAAA high school volleyball regular-season championship was decided Wednesday between the three teams playing at Northwest Whitfield. And the Lady Bruins seemed perfectly content that was the place it was settled.

In front of a crowd heavily in favor of the home team, Northwest Whitfield defeated Ridgeland and Heritage to earn the No. 1 seeding for next week's region tournament.

"These games decide how you pair up for the region tournament," Ridgeland coach Kari Cooper said. "The actual region champion is determined next Saturday, so we still have the opportunity to accomplish our goal."

Ridgeland beat Heritage in between. All three matches between the teams that all came into the tri-match 5-0 in region play ended up 2-1.

The Lady Bruins' set scores against Ridgeland were 22-25, 25-20, 25-19. Against the Generals they were 25-21, 17-25, 25-20.

"Of course it boosted morale," Northwest coach Jennifer Quinn said of playing at home in front of a spirited student section. "It was like the girls had their own pep squad. Their families were here, too. It was the last home match."

Ridgeland (28-6, 6-1) couldn't finish after winning the first set.

"Honestly, I told the girls they played pretty good volleyball," Cooper said. "We didn't make a couple of little adjustments against their hitting, and it led to us not getting the victory."

Heritage (28-6, 5-2) was in every set but one that it played on the night, falling 22-25, 25-22, 25-13.

"We just didn't get it done at the end," Heritage coach John Gaston said. "A missed serve here, a little mistake there; that's all it takes when things are that close. When it's point for point, you hope they make mistakes and not you."

Mary Kate Allen was the kills leader on the night for Northwest (29-7, 7-0) with 14, and she also led with seven aces. Whitley Brooker led in assists with 19 and Holly Heath had nine digs.

McKinley Hopkins, the blocks leader with eight, finished with a flourish. She sparked the Lady Bruins, who were tied at 20 with Generals in the final set of the night before Northwest scored the last five points.

"I think McKinley really stepped up," Quinn said. "She showed a lot of heart and didn't quit. That's been our theme for the season. Don't give up. Even though we get in a hole, we still fight back."

Nicole Lonsford led the Lady Panthers with 31 kills overall. Madison Killen totaled more than 30 digs in each match.

Nikol Taylor led the Generals in kills with 15. Kinsey Hargis had five assists against Northwest and served three aces against Ridgeland.

Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/KelleySmiddie.

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