Sandy Creek, others, ready for area volleyball tournaments

As the 2009 high school volleyball season nears it’s end, and the state playoffs loom on the horizon, the defending state champion Lady Patriots of Sandy Creek have been busy adding hard-fought wins to their already stellar record.

The Patriots, who boast a 42 – 5 record to date this year, played 14 matches this past week and fought to win all of them. The final win of the week came as tournament champions following their domination at the second annual Blessed Trinity tournament in Roswell, a benefit for breast cancer research.

Earlier in the week, Sandy Creek defeated Fayette County (25-9, 25-16) and McIntosh (22-25, 25-20, 25-13) at home before traveling to Northgate to play the number two seed in the area. Creek came home with two wins that night, defeating Northgate (25-19, 25-23) and Mays (25-0, 25-17), forcing Northgate to have to settle for a number two area ranking behind Sandy Creek. The Patriots, who have maintained a number one ranking in the state throughout the season, then defeated Columbus (25-23, 25-15)and Stephenson(25-5, 25-7) as the team honored it’s lone senior, Estefania Diaz.

Then it was on to the Blessed Trinity tournament where the Lady Patriots battled AAAAA powerhouse Chattahoochee High School and came out with the win (22-25, 25-20, 25-14). Before the first night of play was over, the Patriots would defeat AAA’s Oconee County (25-14, 25-23) as well. It was Chamblee who would fall next to the Creek’s outstanding combination of offense and defense (25-15, 25-8). Sandy Creek then defeated Blessed Trinity (25-23, 20-25, 25-19), McIntosh (27-25, 26-24), and Parkview (25-13, 25-4). The Patriots would then face a strong Blessed Trinity team again in the semi-finals (25-21, 22-25, 25-21) before defeating Westminster (26-24, 18-25, 25-15) in the finals for the tournament win.

“This has been an exhausting week for everyone,” said head coach Paul Collins.“But we continue to play hard and confident and we have pulled out some important wins. It has been a true team effort. Everyone worked hard and contributed to each win.”

The tournament win was highlighted by some impressive stats for the Patriots. Team kill leaders were junior Chanelle Walker who posted 84 kills in eight matches, followed by sophomore outside hitter Kalah Jones who finished with 67 kills. Junior middle hitter Danielle Walker had 37 and freshman outside hitter Allie Davenport posted 35 kills for the tournament. Junior middle hitter Akeila Lane finished with 13 kills, junior right side hitter Ria Ridley had seven and sophomore right side hitter Bria Lane, two. Sophomore setter Samantha Bryan and senior libero Estefania Diaz each contributed one kill.

The kills can’t happen without strong setting. Bryan had a total of 106 assists, and C. Walker had 72. Ridley contributed six assists to the Patriot win. The Patriot’s defensive effort was led by Diaz who posted 62 digs, followed by Danielle Walker with 33, Bryan with 24, C. Walker with 22, sophomore Brea Sherman 18, Davenport 16, Jones 10, sophomore Allie MacFall contributed seven digs and A. Lane and Ridley both posted one dig each. Blocking was another key in the Patriot win. It was Akeila Lane who led the team in blocks with 20, followed by D. Walker who had 18.5. Davenport contributed 5.5 blocks, Jones 4.5, and Ridley three. Bria Lane also offered one block during the tournament. Team leaders in service aces were Diaz with 13; C. Walker, Davenport and Sherman each contributed nine aces while Bryan had eight, D. Walker four, and Kalah Jones finished with two.

“At the beginning of the season we knew we had some big shoes to fill with the loss of four key seniors from our state champion team,” said Collins. “With only one senior we are considered a young team, but these girls pack some powerful athletic ability and a ton of experience between them.” Sandy Creek played their final season matches against Alpharetta and Roswell last night after the paper went to press. The first round of area play will begin tomorrow at Northgate. The area winner will be decided Saturday at Sandy Creek. From there the final eight teams left standing will travel to Marist High School on Saturday, Oct. 24, where they will play until two state finalists are named. The state finals will take place Oct. 31 at Marietta High School. The defending state champs hope their athleticism and experience will take them all the way to their third appearance in the finals in just as many years.

Monday, Oct. 5 was senior night for the Starr’s Mill varsity volleyball team. Starr’s Mill defeated Landmark three out of five. Jenn Crotty and Kylie Jacobs were the seniors honored. They were recongized for their past accomplishments and all they have given to the Starr’s Mill volleyball program. Starr’s Mill also recognized the seniors from Landmark presenting them with flowers. This was a great win for  “Senior Night.” The team offered big thanks to Coach Licciardi, Coach Melvin and the wonderful volunteers.

Whitewater’s volleyball team hosted St. Pius and Columbus on Monday and won both matches. The Lady Wildcats beat St. Pius 25-19, 25-13 and defeated Columbus 18-25, 25-20, 20-25. They will open the area tournament on Thursday with a game against Fayette County at 5 p.m.

McIntosh took on Our Lady of Mercy and Luella on Monday and won both matches in two sets. The Lady Chiefs open the area tournament Thursday at Northgate against Starr’s Mill at 5 p.m. Our Lady of Mercy will host the Area 3-AA/A tournament starting Thursday.