Photo by G. Braslavsky
The GHSA Volleyball State Championships return to the LakePoint Sports Complex for two days (Nov. 2, 4) of captivating championship showdowns. Class 2A, 6A, 3A, A-3A Private and 5A will compete in a five-match Saturday marathon that gets underway at 9:30 a.m. and Monday will close out the season with Class 1A at 5 p.m. and Class 4A in the nightcap to conclude Monday’s championship double-header. Class 2A will get the slate started at 9:30 a.m. on Friday with Savannah Arts Academy and Morgan County. Savannah Arts sits one win away from its first-ever title, while Morgan County is looking for its second crown since 2022. No. 1 seed Morgan County has swept its way through the first four rounds, while No. 2 seed Savannah Arts has dropped just one set and is coming off a 3-1 win over Columbus. Savannah Arts senior Torrin Higginbotham had a career-high 32 kills in the semifinal win over the Blue Devils. Morgan County dominated Ringgold in the semifinals 25-7, 25-16, 25-9 and seniors Quinn Butler and Haedyn Crumbley combined for 21 of the team’s 36 kills in the quarterfinals against Jackson.
BATTLE OF CHAMPIONS
Class 6A offers a unique showdown between defending state champions that are each searching for a third all-time state title (North Cobb 2014, Alpharetta 2020). North Cobb—which captured the Class 7A title last season returned to the finals in Georgia’s highest classification as the No. 4 seed out of Area 5. As for Alpharetta, the undefeated Raiders took the Class 6A state title last season and are looking to secure their first state title in Georgia’s highest classification since 2020. Alpharetta is a perfect 35-0 with a 40-match win-streak that dates back to last year and has dropped just six sets all season. One of the sets that the Raiders’ surrendered came in their 2-1 win over North Cobb back on Aug. 17. North Cobb avenged its two regular season losses to Walton in last weekend’s 3-2 semifinal victory. Walton grabbed a 2-0 lead before North Cobb rallied with a season-saving 26-24 win in the third set, a 25-21 win in the fourth and a 15-11 fifth-set victory. Seniors Sarah (21) and Olivia Boyle (12) combined for 33 of North Cobb’s 57 total kills. Alpharetta’s lineup stars Brooke Boyles—a senior that played in her 400th career set last round. Boyles notched a team-high 21 kills in the 3-1 semifinal win over Norcross and has 198 career aces, 1,145 career kills and 1,011 career digs. Senior Madison McLin added 15 kills and five blocks against Norcross and Abigail Li tallied eight blocks and 42 assists with just one ball handling error. Junior Kailey Leonard tallied a team-high 15 digs in the semifinal win and Alpharetta’s roster has many more key contributors returning from last year’s championship run such as Kennedi White, Audrey Simpson and Caitlin Kilkelly.
MAKING HISTORY
Class 3A and Class 1A are the only two finals that are guaranteed to crown a first-ever state champ with Calhoun and Jefferson clashing in Class 3A and Gordon Lee facing Elite Scholar’s Academy in Class A. Jefferson scored a 3-2 win over Chestatee in the quarterfinals and then punched its finals berth with a 3-0 win over White County. Calhoun—which opened its season with six-straight losses, has now won six-straight matches. The Yellow Jackets are coming off a 3-1 win over Richmond Academy in the semifinals. Following the Class 3A finals on Saturday, defending Class A state champion Mt. Pisgah will take on Hebron Christian in the Class A-3A Private finals. Hebron Christian is riding a 21-match win-streak and is one win away from its third all-time title and first since 2019. As for Mt. Pisgah, the Patriots outlasted rival Mount Paran 3-2 in the semifinals.
Saturday’s fifth and final match—Class 5A—will pair 10-time state champion Woodward Academy and last year’s Class 6A state-runner up and five-time state champion Pope in the most decorated showdown of all the finals. Pope’s last state title came in 2022, while Woodward Academy is on the cusp of snapping a championship-drought that dates back to 2010.
Class A finalist Gordon Lee carries a 19-match win-streak into the finals and a 41-5 overall record and the Trojans’ opponent Elite Scholar’s Academy is 27-7 with an eight-match win-streak and a flawless record within Class A competition this season.
Monday’s final matchup will stage seven-time defending state champion Pace Academy against Cartersville—which sits one win away from its first-ever state title. The Knights defeated Marist 3-1 in the semifinals and juniors Lawson Monroe (27) and Rebecca McCloskey (23) combined for 50 of the team’s 60 kills.
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