Daily Dive: No. 1 Alpharetta outlasts rival North Forsyth in five-set battle

Two-time defending state champion Alpharetta carried a 21-match win-streak into its Area 6 matchup with North Forsyth this week and needed five sets to keep the streak alive against a Raiders team that was also unbeaten within Area 6 play heading into the match. North Forsyth came out with a dominant 25-12 victory in the first set, but Alpharetta answered and tied it up with a 25-19 win in the second set. North Forsyth reclaimed the lead with a 25-21 victory in the third set to go up 2-1 and nearly secured the match before Alpharetta was able to force the fifth set with a 30-28 victory. With both teams tied up 2-2, Alpharetta prevailed with a 15-12 triumph in the fifth set to take the match 3-2.

Alpharetta’s 6-foot-3 sophomore Leilani Lamar finished the match with a match-high 17 kills. Teammates Kennedi White (16) and Stephanie Payne (10) also notched double-digit kills. Freshman Susie Dai finished with a career-high 31 assists in the victory and added six digs and one of the team’s 10 blocks.

On North Forsyth, senior Ava Husted posted 31 assists, while Gabbie Isakson (15) and Jayda Reece (13) led the team in kills.  

Alpharetta followed up the win over North Forsyth with a 3-0 road win over Denmark and grew its win-streak to 23-straight. North Forsyth traveled to South Forsyth and will have one more home match against Cherokee Bluff before closing out the regular season at Forsyth Central.

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