GHSA Volleyball State Championship Updates from Wednesday

(Photo - Elizabeth Cook, Oglethorpe County)

Oglethorpe County celebrated its first-ever volleyball state championship Wednesday afternoon at the Lakepoint Sports Complex in Cartersville with a 3-1 victory over top-ranked Bremen in the Class A finals. In the first set, Bremen held an 18-13 lead before Oglethorpe County went on a 10-3 run to get out in front 23-21. Senior Marley Derringer closed out the next point with a booming kill and back-to-back serves by teammate Sierra Syrbe out-maneuvered Oglethorpe County and put Bremen up 24-23. Oglethorpe County called a timeout to stop the momentum and prevailed as the next serve sailed to make it 24-24. Oglethorpe County senior Elizabeth Cook’s next serve ended with a Derringer kill and then Bremen closed out the first set with an ace to take it 26-24.

The Blue Devils carried the momentum into the second set and grew an early 7-2 lead. Oglethorpe County, however, countered with a 10-5 scoring run to even the set 12-12. The teams traded points until a wild and abrupt finish to the second set. Leading 22-21, Bremen appeared to take a 23-21 lead, however, the setter on Derringer’s kill was flagged for a net violation and the Patriots tied it back up 22-22—resulting in what turned out to be a critical two-point swing in Oglethorpe County’s favor making it a tie rather than a 23-21 deficit. Freshman Alexis Fleming successfully served up back-to-back points for the Patriots to set up match point and Oglethorpe County clinched the 25-23 victory after a call was reversed to reward them the final point.

Oglethorpe County commanded the third set early on—jumping out to leads of 7-3 and 10-3 before Bremen chipped away the deficit. The Patriots remained out in front until Bremen evened up the match 24-24. Both teams sailed their next serves to make it 25-25 and then traded points until a Cook kill was tipped by Bremen and set up a match point that Fleming closed with a perfectly-timed bock to give Oglethorpe County the 29-27 victory.

The decisive fourth set required a comeback and dominant finish for the Patriots. After trailing 19-14, sophomore Leanna Newton began a long serving streak that culminated with a 6-0 run three-straight aces to put Oglethorpe County up 20-19. The Blue Devils maintained a 23-20 lead and set up match point with an ace by Haley Matthews. Cook closed out the championship and rewarded the Patriots with their 20th-straight with a kill at the net.

See the other classes below.

Woodward Academy 3, McIntosh 2

Woodward Academy closed out a marathon five-set match in dominant fashion (25-16, 25-20, 22-25, 22-25, 15-4) to win its 11th all-time state title and first since 2010. The War Eagles opened the championship with a 2-0 lead before McIntosh forced the fifth set. The Chiefs used adjustments and strategized to avoid Woodward Academy’s Jade Williams and the power hitters on the right side of the War Eagles’ attack. McIntosh sparked a 9-0 run in the fourth set to win its second-straight 25-22 set. In the fifth set, McIntosh took a brief 1-0 advantage—marking the first time the Chiefs led the whole match. From there, Woodward Academy dominated--including three-straight aces by Lotus Jiroch and cruised to a 15-4 victory.

Class 3A: Whitewater 3, Cherokee Bluff 0

Whitewater captured its third all-time state title (2009, 2012) and avenged last year’s first round loss to Cherokee Bluff with an impressive sweep over the Bears (25-22, 25-16, 25-22). Cherokee Bluff’s talented roster of 11 seniors navigated this year’s bracket as a No. 13 seed to reach the program’s first-ever finals and had an opportunity to become the first state champion in Hall County history. Cherokee Bluff pulled ahead 22-20 in the opening set before the Wildcats’ closed out a 25-22 victory with a 5-0 run. Junior Courtney Newcomer scored a well-placed kill and the Bears had an error on a return that went into the net and tied the game 22-22. Senior Rylee Vessell served up an ace on the next point and Lailah Brown closed out the following point with a kill. On match point, junior Kamari Moreland let the ball sail out of bounds.

The Wildcats built a 16-8 lead in the second set before closing out a 25-16 victory. Newcomer scored a kill to give the Wildcats set point and the Bears were flagged for a net violation to put Whitewater one set away from the title.

In the third set, Cherokee Bluff led 10-6 before Whitewater mounted a critical 11-2 run to go up 17-12. The Bears answered and eventually tied the game 21-21. Whitewater executed down the stretch to set up match point where Newcomer’s block rolled off the net and onto open court to clinch the title and 25-22 win.

Class A-3A Private: Lovett 3, Hebron Christian 2

Lovett (42-3) closed out its 15-6 fifth set victory over Hebron Christian (47-3) on a 5-0 run with freshman Anna Webb Prevost serving up the final four points to win its second all-time state title and snap the defending state champion Golden Lions’ 40-match win-streak. Lovett’s season ended in a 3-1 loss to Hebron Christian in last year’s semifinals and the team had not experienced a five-set match since a regular season loss to Holy Innocents’ late in the 2024 season. On Wednesday, the team jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a dominant 25-11 win over top-ranked Hebron Christian that set the tone for the match. The Golden Lions evened the score with a 26-24 victory in the second set, but Lovett responded with a 25-15 victory to regain a 2-1 lead. Lovett led in the fourth set 6-1 and 11-6, but Hebron Christian tied it up 13-13 and ultimately took the set 25-20 when a powerful hit by Lovett’s star freshman Kari Knotts went long. In the decisive fifth set, Hebron Christian held a brief 3-2 lead before Lovett regained control. The 6-foot-3 Knotts was named Morgan and Morgan MVP of the finals with her dominant performance.

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