The 2021 Georgia High School Association state volleyball playoffs get underway on Tuesday, with more than a dozen teams across six different classifications looking to capture state titles.
Buford, Jefferson, Cherokee Bluff and Union County all go into the playoffs as region champions in 2021.
Buford, the defending Class 6A state champion, leads a strong 14-team area contingent into the first round. The Lady Wolves knocked off Pope 3-1 in the 2020 finals and will open the 2021 playoffs against Allatoona at home.
In Class 5A, Jackson County, which lost in the first round last year, will be at home in the opening round against Villa Rica.
In Class 4A, Jefferson will try and improve on its semifinal showing in 2020. The Lady Dragons open at home against Stephenson. Chestatee, which made the second round in 2020, hopes to build off last season's success as the War Eagles travel to Arabia Mountain in DeKalb County. Flowery Branch is into the playoffs for the first time since 2018.
North Hall, which was not able to get out of the first round in 2020, has another tough draw right out of the gate in the Class 3A tournament. The Lady Trojans will play host to defending Class 3A state champion, Westminster, in the opening round. Lumpkin County travels to Sandy Creek in a rematch of a second-round showdown in 2020 won by the Lady Patriots. Bluff, the Region 7-3A champion, will play host to Redan.
In Class 2A, 2020 semifinalist Union County is back as Region 8-2A/A champs and will open its 2021 tournament at home against Pepperell.
(Check below for the full first-round schedule involving Northeast Georgia-area teams.)
1st ROUND VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
(Games listed by date and classification, highest to smallest)
(Games listed by visiting team in alphabetical order)
(Best-of-five matches at higher seed)
(Area teams highlighted in bold)
Tuesday, Oct. 19
CLASS 6A
Mill Creek (Region 8, Seed 3) at North Forsyth (Region 7, Seed 2), TBD
CLASS 6A
Allatoona (R6, S4) at Buford (R8, S1), TBD
Habersham Central (R8, S3) at Kennesaw Mountain (R6, S2), TBD
CLASS 5A
Villa Rica (R6, S3) at Jackson County (R8, S2), TBD
CLASS 4A
Chestatee (R8, S3) at Arabia Mountain (R6, S2), TBD
Druid Hills (R6, S3) at Flowery Branch (R8, S2), TBD
Stephenson (R6, S4) at Jefferson (R8, S1), TBD
CLASS 3A
East Jackson (R8, S3) at Sonoraville (R6, S2), TBD
Redan (R5, S4) at Cherokee Bluff (R7, S1), TBD
Lumpkin County (R7, S3) at Sandy Creek (R5, S2), TBD
Westminster (R5, S3) at North Hall (R7, S2), TBD
White County (R7, S4) at Greater Atlanta Christian (R5, S1), TBD
CLASS 2A/A PUBLIC
Banks County (R8, S3) at Armuchee (R6, S2), TBD
Pepperell (R6, S4) at Union County (R8, S1), TBD
