ON THE COURTS: Pope continues to roll

There is little question that Pope has the best volleyball team in Class AAAA. The Greyhounds extended their winning streak to 15 with a victory over Woodland, Bartow on Tuesday. During the streak, the Greyhounds also captured their fourth consecutive Cobb County Invitational title. Pope wrested the championship from North Cobb, a team that simply could not handle long service runs. It was a total team effort as seniors Mary Hannah Arrington, Leslye Barnette, and junior Rachel Reynolds combined for 12 kills. Senior setter Mikaela Tracy had 21 assists and senior libero Wimberly Wilson had 14 digs. The Greyhounds have a 30-2 overall record and look to be in the driver’s seat going into the postseason. … St. Pius clinched the top seed in the Area 5-AAA tournament with a three-set victory over Riverwood and wins over Towers and Columbia. The wins over Towers and Columbia were the most impressive of the season for the Golden Lions. In winning all four sets, the Lions outscored their opponents by a total of 100-12. St. Pius is currently 36-4 (7-0) and led by Amanda Stitts’ team-high 297 assists. The Golden Lions will face North Cobb, Eagle’s Landing Christian, and Wesleyan at the Harrison Play-Day on Saturday. … Outside hitter Tori Forrest of North Cobb leads the Warriors with 375 kills in 88 games. The senior ranks second on the team with 206 digs behind sophomore libero Tate Pember with 254 digs.  Forrest will be honored on senior night at home against Lithia Springs and Mill Creek this Thursday along with Lauren Schmitz, Katie O’Rourke, and Samantha Fitzgerald. The Warriors have a 32-6 record and still look to be in good shape for the playoffs despite losing to Pope in their last match. … Lassiter had a good showing in the Cobb County Invitational, defeating Sprayberry in three sets. Senior middle hitter Becca Arndt led the way for the Trojans with 18 kills, 12 digs and three blocks. Senior libero Sarah Young had 21 digs and Ellen Handlan posted 37 assists. Lassiter has played inconsistently this season, but recently strung together five wins in the past seven matches to put their overall record at 24-15. … A mid-season tear put Blessed Trinity in good position to gain a top seed in Class AA/A. The Titans won 22 straight matches from August 27 to September 15. However, in the past two weeks, Blessed Trinity has looked like an average team, but managed a 9-4 record in that span. Outside hitter Molly McAlvany still leads the Titans with 333 kills to go along with 43 aces and 215 digs. Normally, big numbers like that come from a senior, but McAlvany is one of the most talented sophomores in the state.