Sonoraville opened play in the Class AAA State Tournament on Wednesday night at home, and they showed without a doubt who the better team was.
It was a mismatch from the first serve as the Lady Phoenix dominated Booker T. Washington to the tune of a three-set win to advance to the second round. They will host Kendrick on Tuesday in the next round after their win over Southeast Bulloch on Wednesday.
Sonoraville ( 40- 8) opened the match with a 25-3 advantage in the first set, and followed that up with a 25-7 second set and 25-18 third set to finish things off.
Sonoraville coach Trace Vaughn said his team had the normal nerves to start the postseason but were prepared to go at the same time.
“State is always a fun time,” said Vaughn. “You’ve really got the whole school behind you, and there’s a lot of congratulations and attaboys. But it’s nerveracking at the same time because you don’t really know what you’re about to get into. We were ready tonight, though. We had two good days of practice this week, and the girls realized that we’re really just four wins away from the big goal of a state title. You’ve got to take it one at a time, but you have to realize how close you are at the same time.”
Leading the Lady Phoenix was Emalie Hicks with 12 kills and three aces. Savannah Wilbanks also had a big night with 22 assists, two kills and two aces.
Also contributing to the win was Taryn Hickey with nine kills, Maris Irick with four kills, five digs and there aces, Delaney Bell with five digs, Haley Smith with seven aces and four digs, Gracen Hornbrook with eight assists, Natalie Parker with two digs and two aces, Baylea Richards with three digs and Kaytland Collum with two digs.
Smith also set school records for 21 consecutive service points and going 35-for-35 serving in the match.
The win continued Sonoraville’s streak of impressive play as it was their 16th win in a row, including an undefeated run last weekend at the 6-AAA Tournament to earn their fourth straight area title.
Vaughn was able to utilize his entire bench in the win to get some of the reserves some bigtime playoff experience.
“It was fantastic for all the girls to get a chance to play, and they got out there and showed that they know how to play volleyball too,” said Vaughn. “Several of them were a part of the great JV season we had this year, and that carries over. I feel like I can stick anyone in there without a huge drop off. That just shows the depth of our program and the talent of the girls from top to bottom.”
Sonoraville has made it routine over the last few years to play their best volleyball at the end of the season, and they plan on doing the same this year as they search for their fourth straight trip to at least the third round. They qualified for their first ever Final Four last season.
Vaughn said his girls know that it’s going to get a lot harder from this point on.
“The girls realize that things are about to get taken to a new level and the competition is going to take a great leap forward starting with the next round,” said Vaughn. “We’ve seen Kendrick before, and they’ve got some great athletes. Each step along the way gets tougher, but these girls are ready to make a deep run.”
Vaughn added that as the competition gets tougher, his team’s ability to stay alive will come down to two key factors.
“We’ve focused on serving and serve receive all season because we know that’s the difference as you get to the better competition is serving gets stronger and stronger, and if you can’t handle it, you won’t be able to compete on the highest level,” said Vaughn. “We’ve spent a lot of time on that this year, and I feel like we’re more prepared than we’ve ever been with it.”