Region 7 proved Saturday it is the premier volleyball league in Class AAA in GHSA volleyball as three of its members earned spots among the final four in the upcoming state semifinals at the LakePoint Sports complex in Emerson.
Top-seeded LaFayette won at home against No. 8 Ringgold, a fellow Region 7 team, sweeping their best-of-five match with set scores of 25-23, 25-14, 25-15 to improve to 44-5.
Coahulla Creek, seeded sixth, upset No. 3 Pierce County in four sets — 25-22, 19-25, 25-18, 25-20 — to advance, and the Lady Colts (28-16) will next face another Region 7 opponent, No. 2 Union County, which swept state power Franklin County.
Also advancing to the state semifinals at Lakepoint from the area are Gordon Lee in A/AA and Calhoun in AAAA.
Top-seeded Gordon Lee won easily over No. 9 Oglethorpe County, 25-16, 25-21, 25-8, and will face No. 5 Savannah Arts at noon Tuesday.
No. 3 Calhoun quickly dispatched No. 6 Mary Persons, 25-9, 25-12, 25-21, and takes on No. 2 Oconee County at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
LaFayette will face No. 5 Morgan County at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, with the Coahulla Creek-Union County match set for 1:30.
LaFayette won its third match of the season against the Lady Tigers (27-20), who were state semifinalists the past two seasons. Makenna Clarke led a strong showing up front with 15 kills and added a team-high eight digs, while Alex Dodson had nine kills, four blocks and four digs for the Lady Ramblers.
Anabelle Penland contributed six kills, three blocks, five digs and three aces, with setter Jaelyn Hancock dishing out 23 assists and four digs, Serenity Hancock adding five kills and three digs, and Sophy Tinklepaugh compiling seven digs, six assists and two kills.
“We just had to settle in because these big games come with pressure, and sometimes we come out and try to play perfect,” LaFayette coach Chris Logan said. “We talk all the time about just playing good and the great will show up. We came out in the second set and stepped up our serving. When we got comfortable, our overall play stepped up.”
Coahulla Creek, after losing the second set at Pierce, controlled the final two as Alyce Norton again had her way up front. The area’s leading kill artist (she came in with 578 this season) added 23 more, including a couple from the back line in the final set.
Maddy Hambright made sure Norton had clean looks as she ended up with 43 assists, with Natalie Snow adding 15 digs and six aces.
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Gordon Lee’s third consecutive trip to the semifinals was never in doubt Saturday. In setting a program record for single-season wins, the Lady Trojans (42-3) were dominant up front behind Emma Young, who had 19 kills, 11 digs and three aces, with Adalynn Johnson adding eight kills.
They also controlled possession and passed the ball efficiently, coach Nic Hann said.
“Our team came out aggressive,” he added. “We talked a lot this week about controlling the tempo of the game. The girls executed well and were aggressive throughout the match. Consistency was the key today.
“The setters did a good job of getting all hitters involved. Our middles made some big plays, and that opened some seams up for our pins. It was just a total team effort.
Whitney Blaylock led the Lady Trojans with 20 assists and also had five digs and four aces, with Kynidie Gaffin adding 10 digs and three aces, McKinley Richie 12 digs and London Franklin seven assists.
Calhoun improved to 32-13 while downing Mary Persons (29-11). The other two teams in the AAAA semifinals are No. 1 North Hall and No. 5 Columbus.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com.