Calhoun volleyball goes 6-0 to win At The Rock Tournament
It was long day of volleyball on Saturday, but the Calhoun Lady Jackets never lost focus of their main goal and were able to achieve it at the At The Rock Tournament.
The Lady Jackets went a perfect 6-0 on the day to claim the tournament title at Rockmart High with an outstanding performances from several individuals that translated into a great day for the team. The six victories continued Calhoun’s impressive start to the season as they now stand at 10-0.
On Saturday, the Lady Jackets defeated Paulding County (25-13, 25-17), Pepperell (25-14, 25-15), Alexander (2518, 25-20), Armuchee (25-7, 25-12) and North Paulding (25-16, 25-18) before earning the firstplace trophy with a 25-15, 25-22 victory over East Paulding in the championship match.
Leading the way for Calhoun was Anna George with 28 kills, 12 aces, three blocks and two digs and Emma Kate Smith with 14 aces, seven digs and five kills. Also contributing to the wins were Ashlyn Brzozoski with 13 digs and six aces, Callie Edens with four aces and two digs, Anna Hoblitzell with four aces, two kills, two blocks and one ace, Erin Kelly with 12 aces, eight kills and one dig, Emma Ledford with 12 digs, Nena Marcus with 14 kills and five aces, Sophie Stewart with nine kills and five aces and Erin Paul with seven digs.
The Lady Jackets will be back on the court on Saturday as they play in the Rally on The Ridge Tournament at Fannin County High starting at 8 a.m.
In other recent prep sports action:
VOLLEYBALL Lady Jackets win two on the road
Calhoun visited Pepperell on Thursday for a tri-match and came away with a pair of wins to stay unbeaten early in the season.
The Lady Jackets (4-0) defeated Pepperell in two sets (25-16, 25-20) and then finished the night with a two-set (2512, 25-20) win over Unity Christian. In the stat column for Calhoun was Anna George with 12 kills, two blocks and two aces, Nena Marcus with six kills and one ace, Erin Kelly with five kills, three aces and one block, Emma Kate Smith with four kills and two aces, Sophie Stewart with four kills, Anna Hoblitzell with two kills and one ace, Callie Edens with two kills and one ace and Ashlyn Brzozoski with one kills and one ace.
Sonoraville splits at home
The Lady Phoenix hosted a tri-match on Thursday night and came away with a split against Ringgold and Heritage.
Sonoraville (2-3) got the evening off to a strong start with a two-set win over Ringgold 25-17, 25-18. They then battled Heritage in a hard-fought three-set decision as they lost the first set 25-12, rallied back to even the match in the second set 25-18 and then dropped the third and deciding set 15-13.
“We played a really high level of volleyball this evening,” said Sonoraville coach Trace Vaughn. “We struggled out of the gate in the second match against a strong Heritage team, but once we got going, we were hanging with them kill for kill. Our girls have a great chemistry brewing, and we’re starting to work out some of those earlyseason kinks. I hate to lose anytime, but I am proud of our effort and the direction we are heading.”
Senior captain Bree Steely led the effort with 19 assists, 12 kills and 16-of-16 serving with an ace. Raleigh Hooper added 14 assists, 12 kills, 17-of-19 serving with two aces, a block and two block assists, Kinsey Wilson had 18 digs, an assist and an ace, Hannah Wehunt had 15 digs and was 11-of-13 serving with an ace, Anissa Hales had 14 digs, two assists and 9-of-10 serving, Abby Chambers had 10 kills, two aces and two block assists, Annelies Carr had five kills, four blocks and three block assists, Skylar Huskins had four kills, two digs and was 6-of-7 serving and Alexis Lincoln added two kills.
The Lady Phoenix were on the road on Tuesday to visit Coosa for a tri-match with the Lady Eagles and North Murray. (For details on that match, see Saturday’s Calhoun Times.) They will next visit Southeast Whitfield on Tuesday, Aug. 28 for a tri-match against the Lady Raiders and LFO starting at 6 p.m.
Lady Warriors drop two at Chattooga
Gordon Central visited Chattooga to take on the Lady Indians and LFO on Thursday and came up short in both matches.
The Lady Warriors (0-5) fell to Chattooga in their opening match of the night 25-17, 25-23 and then finished the night with a loss to LFO 25-17, 25-15.
“We were ahead and back and forth both sets but came up short against Chattooga,” said Gordon Central coach Alicen Pearson. “Our starting setter was absent so we pulled up a JV setter, Lani Collins, to fill her spot. Lani did great, despite not knowing our defense. The team really came together and encouraged her. We lost because of missed serves and weak serve receive. We faced the same weakness against LFO. We missed too many serves and had too many serve receive errors. We will be working diligently on these two skills.”
Gordon Central visited Coahulla Creek on Tuesday for a trimatch against the Lady Colts and Northwest Whitfield. (For details on that match, see Saturday’s Calhoun Times.) They will visit Rockmart for a tri-match against the Lady Jackets and Fannin County on Thursday starting at 6 p.m.
Lady Phoenix go 2-2 at Coosa Invitational
Sonoraville took a trip to Rome on Saturday to compete in the Coosa Invitational and came away with a 2-2 effort.
The Lady Phoenix (4-5) started with pool play as they defeated Model (25-13, 25-10) and Chattooga (22-25, 25-13, 15-11) before falling to Northwest Whitfield (2025, 19-25). They finished the day with a loss to Cherokee in bracket play 20-25, 11-25.
SOFTBALL Sonoraville 3, Haralson County 1
The Lady Phoenix got another strong outing from senior ace pitcher Kristen Davis and enough timely hits to earn a region win and stay unbeaten on Thursday night.
Davis went all seven innings for the complete game for Sonoraville (6-0, 4-0 in 6-AAA) as she allowed one run on five hits while striking out one.
Karley Thomas led the offense with two hits, an RBI and a run scored. Griffin Holden added a hit and an RBI, and Sandra Beth Pritchett also drove in a run. Sarah Anne Arthur and Haley Williams had a hit and a run scored apiece, and Katie Williams also had a hit.
The Lady Phoenix were on the road on Monday at Coahulla Creek and on Tuesday at LFO. (For details on those games, see Saturday’s Calhoun Times.) They will be back on their home field on Thursday when they host North Murray at 5:30 p.m. for another region contest.
Lady Jackets go 2-0 at Lady Cat Classic
Calhoun put together a couple strong wins on Friday and Saturday while playing in the Lady Cat Classic at Heritage Point Park in Dalton.
The Lady Jackets (3-2) defeated Ridgeland on Friday night, 6-2. Molly Walker got the win in the circle, and Erin Barnes had a two-run homer at the plate. Also contributing offensively was Carlie Henderson, Lyndi Rae Davis and Audrey Wilbanks with two hits apiece.
Calhoun followed that up with a 4-3 victory over Northwest Whitfield on Saturday. They fell behind 3-2 after five innings but came back to score two in the sixth and hold on from there. Espee Reyes had a homer in the contest, and Blair Jordan was 2-for-3 with a double. Anna Taylor and Davis each had two hits, and Malysha Winston contributed a double. Maggie McBrayer earned the win as she struck out eight.
Calhoun was scheduled to play Heritage later on Saturday but the game was rained out. They hosted Adairsville on Monday and visited Coahulla Creek on Tuesday. (For details on those games, see Saturday’s Calhoun Times.) They will be on the road again on Thursday when they visit LFO at 5:30 p.m.
Gordon Central salvages win in Dalton
After a tough start on Friday at the Dalton Lady Cat Classic at Heritage Point Park with two losses, the Lady Warriors came back on Saturday and earned a solid win.
Gordon Central (5-5) fell to North Murray 9-0 and Darlington 10-4 on Friday but bounced back with a 4-2 victory on Saturday against Southeast Whitfield. Against the Lady Raiders, Morgan Frank picked up the win in the circle, and Jada Jaco had two hits at the plate. Montana Slaughter added a solo homer, and Marissa Self also had a hit.
The Lady Warriors were back home on Tuesday to face region foe Dade County. ( For details on that game, see Saturday’s Calhoun Times.) They will be home once again on Thursday at 5 p.m. to play Chattooga in another 7-AA contest.