The North Hall girls volleyball team, a semifinalist in 2017, rallied from a 2-1 deficit to knock Jefferson Tuesday at home in a thrilling 3-2 win in the seocnd round.
Jefferson took a 2-1 sets leads before North Hall stormed back to take the final two sets for the victory (19-25, 25-20, 19-25, 25-23, 15-10).
Grace Hollifield had 15 kills, 6 blocks, and 1 ace and Maci Gillespie added 34 assists, 14 digs, 8 kills, and 1 ace for North Hall. Alexandria Bryant had 36 digs, 6 aces, and 5 kills, Bella Foster had 46 digs and 1 ace, and Madison Brock added 11 kills, 1 ace, and 35 digs for the Lady Trojans.
Ansley Smallwood had 5 kills, Dovie Williams 4 aces and 12 kills, and Zoe Finelli 19 digs for North Hall.
The Lady Trojans next will travel to defending state champion Pace Academy on Saturday in a rematch of last year's semifinals, won by Pace in a tight 3-1 victory.
Buford advanced to the quarterfinals of the Class 5A state playoffs Tuesday with a 3-0 sweep of Grady at home. Buford next will travel to Statesboro on Saturday for a chance at the semifinals.
The Lady Wolves finished as the state runner-up in 2017 in Class 5A and are looking for a repeat trip to the championship match. Buford won the 2016 Class 5A title and took the 2015 Class 4A title.
In Class 3A, Jackson County moved into the quarterfinals with a 3-0 sweep of Lumpkin County in Jefferson. The Lady Panthers next will play host to Lovett, a 3-0 winner over Jackson-Atlanta, in Saturday's third round.
Meanwhile, East Hall dropped a tough 3-2 decision to Morgan County and Dawson County fell to Calhoun in a 3-0 loss on the road in Class 3A action.
For East Hall, it finished with a 36-16 record after a 32-30, 27-25, 20-25, 21-25 and 15-11 loss to the Lady Bulldogs.
Savannah Thellman scored 7 points on serve with 6 kills, 9 digs, and 39 assists and Tessa Rider added 10 points on serve with 4 aces, 22 kills, and 20 digs for the Lady Vikings. Ivey Shadburn scored 6 points on serve with 1 kill, 1 assist, and 4 digs, Janelly Lara had 13 points on serve with 3 aces, 14 kills, and 35 digs, Alysia Teague scored 10 points on serve and had 11 digs, Nehemiah Jinks added 10 kills and 6 blocks, and Lakeria Whelchel provided 10 points on serve with 1 ace, 6 kills, and 8 blocks for East Hall.
In Class AA-A Private, Area 8 AA-A Private champion Lakeview Academy was upset by Area 6 AA-A No. 3 seed Walker 3-2 in Gainesville.
Rabun County in Class 2A-A Public and Gainesville in Class 6A both will be in action on Wednesday in the second round.
2018 STATE VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT 2ND ROUND
(All series are best 3-of-5 format. Listed by date and in alphabetical order, by classification.)
(Area teams in bold)
Tuesday, Oct. 23
CLASS 5A
Buford 3, Grady 0
CLASS 3A
Calhoun 3, Dawson County 0
Morgan County 3, East Hall 2
North Hall 3, Jefferson 2
Jackson County 3, Lumpkin County 0
CLASS AA-A Private
Walker 3, Lakeview Academy 2
Wednesday, Oct. 24
CLASS 6A
Gainesville (Region 8, No. 3 seed) at Allatoona (Region 6, No. 1 seed)
CLASS AA-A Public
Armuchee (R6, 3S) at Rabun County (R8, 1S)
2018 STATE VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS
(All series are best 3-of-5 format. Listed by date and in alphabetical order, by classification.)
(Area teams in bold)
Saturday, Oct. 27
CLASS 5A
Buford (Region 8, No. 1 seed) at Statesboro (Region 2, No. 1 seed)*
CLASS 3A
Lovett (R4, 4S) at Jackson County (R8, 3S)
North Hall (R7, 1S) at Pace Academy (R4, 1S)*
(* -- Home court determined by coin flip)
