Calhoun, Sonoraville move on to second round of playoffs
The Calhoun and Sonoraville volleyball teams were both in action in their respective first-round playoff matches at home on Tuesday night. Both teams won to advance to the second round.
In Calhoun’s match against Chapel Hill, the Lady Jackets swept the visitors 3-0 by set scores of 25-16, 25-9 and 25-20. Calhoun coach Nic Hann was happy with his team’s performance.
“I’m really proud of the girls. They came out in the first round of state very aggressive, which is what we wanted. Sometimes, you get the nerves in the first round, but the girls came out ready to play. Overall, we played a really good match.”
Mackenzie Banta led the Lady Jackets with 13 kills, an ace and three digs. Anna Hoblitzell added 35 assists, seven aces and eight digs to go along with her six kills. Abi Locklear also added seven aces of her own. Hann was proud of them.
“Mackenzie did a really good job of moving the ball around,” Hann said. “She’s been working hard in practice to not be so one-dimensional but to be a more versatile hitter. It was really good to see her hitting around the big block that Chapel Hill had. She was placing the ball extremely well. Abi Locklear did a phenomenal job serving last night — seven aces. She served at 94 percent. She gave Chapel Hill fits with her serves. I was really proud to see her step up. Anna Hoblitzell had 35
assists. She spread the ball out well to our hitters. We had a really balanced attack. I was really proud of her for getting all of our hitters involved.”
With the victory, Calhoun will advance in the playoffs and take on St. Pius X Catholic in Atlanta on Saturday starting at 12 p.m.
Sonoraville
In Sonoraville’s match, the Lady Phoenix defeated North Hall 3-1 by set scores of 25-18, 25-23 (loss), 25-20 and 25-21. Sonoraville coach Trace Vaughn was elated
with the win.
“I was glad to get this one under our belt,” Vaughn said. “We came out a little bit shaky and didn’t play our best that we’ve played the past two weeks. North Hall is a very scrappy team. They didn’t let the ball hit the floor without someone getting on the floor after it. They sent a lot of balls back over that probably would’ve been kills against most of the teams that we play. They are a very wellcoached team, but our girls hung in there. Both teams went on big runs. We just had to weather the storm and make sure we kept our
heads up and kept trying.”
Alley Cole led the Lady Phoenix with 13 kills, two blocks and a dig. Raleigh Hooper made her presence felt with 19 assists, two aces, 15 digs and a block to go with her eight kills. Abby Chambers also added 15 digs of her own and two assists in addition to her eight kills. Vaughn praised each of them.
“All three of those girls played fantastic,” Vaughn said. “Alley honestly didn’t have one of her better nights believe it or not even though the numbers were pretty high. Her timing wasn’t quite 100
percent, but she played well. If you put the ball in the right area, most of the time she’ll put it away. Raleigh — she’s just a great all-around athlete. She runs the show on the floor. Abby can do anything on the court. She made some incredible plays last night. There was one at the end of the third set where it was very tight and could have gone either way. She just took control of the game and had a couple of really big hits and put it away. That was one of her better matches of the year.”
The Lady Phoenix’s win on Tuesday meant even more to Vaughn because of past years’ first-round struggles for his team.
“It’s really big for us especially because the last two years we were knocked out in the first round, which is unusual for
us,” Vaughn said. “To have one at home and get us back in the right direction as far as being able to move forward in the playoffs and get into the Sweet 16, that was big.”
Sonoraville will play in the second round on Saturday against Oconee County in Watkinsville at 11 a.m. Vaughn expects a challenge.
“I think we’re set up great in our bracket. I think we have some really good matchups. Oconee is going to be another really scrappy team. They get after it. They don’t have a lot of size, but they have decent size. They fly around very quick. They run a lot of different looks, so we’re going to have to be quick on our feet to adjust to it. It’s going to be a tough match. I don’t expect them to be a pushover by any means whatsoever.