Setting history
Armuchee sweeps to pick up its first-ever volleyball state playoff win.
The Armuchee volleyball team has been reaching program milestones all season long, and it reached its biggest one to date Tuesday afternoon.
The Lady Indians won their first state playoff game in program history with a 25-6, 25-6, 25-14 victory against Washington in the opening round of the GHSA Class AA bracket at Armuchee.
“Just a total team effort today, and we made history,” Armuchee coach Clint Decker said. “We’ve never done this before at Armuchee, so that just makes me even more proud of these girls. We preached about making history all week long and we did it.”
Bridgette Jones led Armuchee with seven kills and two aces, while Carson Powell tallied 15 assists and four aces. Brandy Ann Wacker had four aces and four kills, and Gabby Agan led the team with 11 aces and also had three kills.
The Lady Indians (23-15) started fast, scoring the first 10 points of the match and cruising to an easy first set victory. They didn’t slow down in the second set as they jumped to a 13-1 lead to begin with and finished the set scoring the final eight points.
Armuchee simply did what Decker has asked all season as it made clean passes and waited for Washington to make mistakes. And those mistakes came rapidly as the Lady Bulldogs (4-23) struggled to get a clean shot over the net until the third set.
“Before the game we told them if we could keep our serves in and if we passed well, we were going to beat this team,” Decker said. “We have had that mindset all year. As long as we keep serves
in and pass it well we always have a chance.”
Washington improved in the final set as it took an early 4-1 lead and had the set tied at 7-7 early on, but an 11-2 Armuchee run helped the team pull away and seal up the historic win.
The Lady Indians play again Saturday, but like all AA teams will have to wait for their new seeding from the GHSA today. If it is placed in the top four, Decker’s team will host a quarterfinal match.
“We feel confident we are going to be seeded top four, but whatever happens we are going to be ready,” Decker said. “Wherever we play, we’ll be ready to make a little bit more history.”