Walton's quest for a fifth straight state title ended in the second round on Tuesday as visiting North Cobb took the match in four sets. North Cobb took the first two sets 25-21, 25-22 but Walton recovered to win 25-12 in the third. The fourth set was neck-and-neck until North Cobb got a 29-27 win.
"We had as many as five hitters across the front row at times, and I felt that that gave us a good chance to win," North Cobb head coach James Auld told the Marietta Daily Journal. "It was a game of five hitters to two hitters.
Roswell, Harrison, South Forsyth, North Gwinnett and Johns Creek swept their way into the Elite 8 and Brookwood and East Coweta took their matches in four sets over Woodstock and Norcross, respectively.
In Class AAAAA, Cambridge and Harris County advanced to the Elite 8 after having to play both rounds on the road. Columbus, Dunwoody, Camden County, River Ridge, Northside-Columbus and Sequoyah round out the quarterfinals.
North Oconee, Marist, North Hall, Woodward Academy, St. Pius, Buford and Sandy Creek make up the Class AAAA Elite 8 and this field of teams is yet to drop a single set.
East Hall survived a five set match with Ringgold in the opening round but took care of Kendrick with a sweep on Tuesday to advance to the quarterfinals. Morgan County upset Decatur in the first round but Savannah Arts proved to be too much on Tuesday and handed the Bulldogs a three-set sweep.
Class A had the most top 10 matchups in its second-round action and Savannah Christian, Calvary Day and ELCA were able to battle past ranked opponents. No. 2 Savannah Christian took down No. 5 Mt. Paran 3-1 No. 3 ELCA swept No. 7 Athens Academy. No. 10 Calvary Day pulled off a 3-1 upset over No. 4 Walker. Hebron Christian, Fellowship Christian and Prince Avenue Christian make up just six remaining teams in Class A.
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