Columbus, Northside volleyball teams advance to Sweet 16 in state playoffs

In command throughout the match, the Columbus Blue Devils (38-8) swept Luella (9-26) at home Saturday in the first round of the Georgia Class AAAA volleyball state playoffs. The scores were 25-9, 25-6 and 25-5. Leading the Blue Devils were senior middle blocker Tierra White (11 kills, 6 aces), junior outside hitter Savannah Ogle (10 kills, 2 aces, 1 block) and junior setter Ashley Cox (23 assists, 4 aces).

Columbus coach Donna Fleming praised the back-row Blue Devils for their ball control.

“We ended up getting a lot of free balls from the other team,” Fleming said. “They were just bumping it over to us, and our back row did a really good job passing the ball. We didn’t have to do a lot of digging, and we just put a lot of pressure on them with our serves.”

Fleming also was pleased with the Blue Devils’ strong start in the playoffs, allowing them to use all their players.

“That was a positive,” she said, “because all these girls really have invested their time and energy in this since June 1.”

Now, the challenge is to advance farther then they did last year, when they lost to Woodward Academy in the 16-team second round. Columbus, the Region 1 first seed, next will host Cross Creek, the Region third seed, on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Cross Creek swept Spalding, the Region 2 second seed, 25-16, 25-15 and 25-5, in Saturday’s other match at Columbus.

Northside sweeps

In the Class AAAA first round Saturday at Perry, Region 1 second seed Northside swept Region 4 third seed Druid Hills.

The scores were 25-5, 25-11, 25-11.

“Our passers stayed in engage, and our hitters were able to execute,” said Northside associate head coach Cassia Roper, who has led the team this season while head coach Lindsay Johnson is on maternity leave.

Statistical leaders for the Patriots were junior outside hitter Nevaeh Edwards( 17 kills, four digs), senior outside hitter Lauren Duncan (11 kills, seven digs), junior libero Berkleigh Davidson (12 digs, six aces), senior setter Caroline Irving (22 assists, four digs) and sophomore middle blocker Ah’Miah Harris (five kills).

After losing the region championship match to Columbus last week, the Patriots regrouped.

“We met, we refocused, we watched film, and we talked about forgetting everything from the past and concentrating on what need to do to keep advancing,” Roper said. “They came out focused and determined and really took control of the game.”

Northside advanced to the Sweet 16 and will play 5 p.m. Wednesday at Region 2 first seed Perry.

Jordan wins, then loses

Due to travel considerations, the teams may play the first and second rounds on the same day at the same site, but all four teams must agree. That was the case in this Class AA-A public school quadrant Saturday at Woodville-Tompkins in Savannah.

In the first round, Area 4 second seed Jordan swept Area 1 third seed Chattahoochee County, then lost in five games to Area 3 first seed Woodville-Tompkins.

The game scores haven’t been available.

Harris County wins, then loses

Hosting first- and second-round matches Saturday in Class AAAAA, Region 1 first seed Harris County beat Region 4 fourth seed Dutchtown 3 games to 1.

Region 3 third seed Starr’s Mill swept Region 2 second seed South Effingham. Then, in the second round, Starr’s Mill also swept Harris County.

The game scores haven’t been available.

Hardaway gets swept

In the Class AAAA first round Saturday at Woodward Academy, Region 1 fourth seed Hardaway was swept by Region 4 first seed Woodward.

The game scores haven’t been available.

Shaw gets swept

In the Class AAAA first round Saturday at Richmond Academy, Region 1 third seed Shaw was swept by Region 4 second seed Eastside.

The game scores haven’t been available.

Kendrick gets swept

In the Class AAA first round, Area 2 fourth seed Kendrick was swept by the host, Area 3 first seed Savannah Arts, 25-12, 25-9 and 25-9.

The start of the match was delayed 75 minutes because the Cherokees’ bus broke down, the Savannah Morning News reported. A bus from Statesboro rescued them after they were stranded for two hours, the report says.

Brookstone gets swept

In the Class AA-A private school first round, Area 4 second seed Brookstone was swept by Area 1 third seed Atlanta International, 25-15, 25-14 and 25-21, at Calvary Day in Savannah.

Mark Rice, 706-576-6272, @MarkRiceLE.

This story was originally published October 20, 2018 at 6:23 PM.