Powerful presence
Three local volleyball teams prepare to host state quarterfinals on Saturday.
Three local volleyball teams prepare to host state quarterfinals on Saturday.
On Tuesday, a trio of Area 3-AA volleyball teams proved their prowess with dominating wins in the first round of the state tournament.
And the Georgia High School Association took notice.
Coosa, Armuchee and Chattooga all were seeded in the top four of Class AA when the new championship brackets were released Wednesday by the GHSA. The three teams will host quarterfinal matches Saturday.
And while each team has gotten noticed for their hard work, they’re still anxious to prove how much they have left.
“I think our area is the toughest one in the state for our classification,” Coosa coach Nic Hann said. “So when I saw these results come out, I wasn’t really that shocked at all.”
Coosa will host Jordan on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Lady Eagles have lost only seven games and cruised to a sweep of KIPP Charter in the first round Tuesday. This is the second season in a row Coosa was seeded No. 2 entering the championship bracket after making it to the state championship game last season before falling to St. Vincent’s.
The Lady Eagles, while wanting to get back to the title game, still believe in taking things one point at a time to get there.
“We just want to go to practice every day and see how we can get better,” Hann said. “At this level of volleyball, you win matches with serving and passing, and we can always improve there. So that’s what we’re going to work on before each match.”
The situation is completely new to Armuchee, which plays WestsideAugusta at home Saturday at 11:30 a.m. after getting the No. 3 seed in the bracket. Coach Clint Decker was very pleased with the seeding and credited it to Armuchee’s stiff competition in the regular season.
Armuchee’s 3-0 win against Washington on Tuesday was its first playoff victory in program history, but Decker doesn’t want the team suddenly relaxed.
While getting to the quarterfinals has always been a goal, he wants the team to be ready to aim further.
“We talked about for the longest time with the goal was just to get to state,” Decker said. “But on Monday, we agreed that we don’t just want to be satisfied with state, don’t just want a state T-shirt. We want to take it a game at a time and go further.”
While the school is being used as a parking site for the Wings Over North Georgia air show, Decker said there’ll be a separate lot for game spectators.
Chattooga went on the road for its win Tuesday to beat Douglass and now hosts Harlem as the No. 4 seed. The Lady Indians spent most of the season in second in Area 3-AA before it dropped two games to Armuchee in the area tournament.