STATE VOLLEYBALL SEMIFINALS
When: Wednesday night
Where: Class AAAAAA (at Chattahoochee and Walton); AAAAA (at McIntosh and Sequoyah); AAAA (at Columbus and Marist); AAA (at Blessed Trinity and St. Pius); AA (at Wesleyan and Westminster); A (at Hebron Christian and Holy Innocents').
Online: Brackets, pairings, scores at ajc.com.
The GHSA volleyball season comes to a conclusion this week with semifinal action Wednesday and championships Saturday.
South Forsyth’s reward for getting past Harrison in the quarterfinals is a rematch with top-seeded Walton, a three-time defending state champion. The teams faced each other Sept. 14, and Walton won 25-16 and 26-24.
Johns Creek is even more familiar with its semifinal opponent, Area 5-rival Chattahoochee. After splitting regular-season games, Chattahoochee defeated the Gladiators 16-14 in the fifth set for the area championship.
Familiar foes also will face each other in Class AAAAA, where top-seeded McIntosh is set to host Region 4-rival Northgate. The Chiefs have won 18 consecutive sets in their current eight-match winning streak. Sequoyah is on 29-match surge heading into its semifinal clash against Dunwoody.
In Class AAAA, Sandy Creek is bidding for its third consecutive state title. On the other side of the bracket, Marist is looking for its first title since 2006. The War Eagles are going up against a River Ridge squad that is the school’s first semifinalist in any sport.
A trio of Area 3 teams — Blessed Trinity, Buford and St. Pius — are part of the Class AAA semifinals. St. Pius senior outside hitter Leah Hardeman set a school record earlier this season with 28 kills in a match. Woodward Academy, an Area 2 representative, has faced Buford and St. Pius this season, but has not played Blessed Trinity.
The four remaining teams in Class AA are from Area 4 (Westminster and Lovett) and Area 6 (Jefferson and Wesleyan). Westminster is still bidding for its first state crown since 2008 (Class AA/A) after losing a 3-2 heartbreaker to Lovett in last year’s championship match.
Holy Innocents’, the Class A No. 1 seed, will face Eagle’s Landing Christian for the second time this season after winning the matchup 25-14, 25-16 on Aug. 24.
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