Thursday March 28th, 2024 8:41AM

Volleyball playoffs: Branch looks for more history in 4A finals; Buford hopes to defend 6A title

By Jeff Hart Sports Reporter

CARTERSVILLE — In 2015, Buford made history winning its first-ever state championship in volleyball in its first-ever appearance in the state finals.

Today at the LakePoint Sports Complex Champions Center in Cartersville, Flowery Branch will look to do the same. The Lady Falcons will take on perennial power Marist at 2 p.m. in a best-of-five sets format in the Class 4A state championship match.

The Lady Falcons already have made history becoming the first Hall County team to make it to the volleyball finals in any classification. They are hungry to add on, said second-year coach Taylor Bowman.

“We are definitely ready to go and these girls want this pretty bad,” Bowman said. “It’s cool to be the first Hall County team to get here. We feel good about our chances (Saturday). Hopefully we can make more history.”

But the task will be a tough one for the Lady Falcons. Marist is the defending state champion and has won three Class 4A volleyball titles since 2014.

The current Lady War Eagles have been dominating in the 2021 playoffs. They have yet to drop a set in the tournament with easy 3-0 wins over North Oconee, Perry, Islands, and Fayette County in the semifinals last week.

“We watched a lot of film on Marist and they are really good,” Bowman said. “They have a very good offense and put a lot of pressure on you.”

Flowery Branch advanced to its first Class 4A finals with a 3-1 victory over Northwest Whitfield in the semifinals last week. The Lady Falcons beat Druid Hills, Columbus, and Pickens as well, dropping just two total sets so far.

Hall County teams vs. private schools have not been a favorable matchup in the playoffs over the years. Bowman said none of that matters.

“We played a very difficult schedule in the region and in non-region. We did that to get battle tested for the playoffs. I think it has really helped us,” she said. 

“We’ve been in a lot of high-pressure situations this season so really I don’t think this is going to be any different. We’ve done everything we can do to prepare for this. All we can do now is just worry about us and what our strengths are.”

Their poise was on full-display in the semifinals against Northwest Whitfield. After dropping the first set, they rallied to win the final three sets to propel them into their first-ever finals.

“We were down early and I called a timeout and just told them that nobody expected Flowery Branch to be here. They had nothing to lose and from then on they really relaxed and just played their game,” Bowman said. “They’re used to the pressure. If we play (on Saturday) the way we played over those last three games, we can win this.”

The Lady Falcons will bring plenty of firepower up front with multiple options. Four players have 100 or more kills and average nearly 9 kills a set this season.

Senior outside-hitter Ashlyn Browning leads the way with 345 kills. Junior middle-hitter Emma Witman has 233 kills, junior Valeria Quintero has 116 kills, and senior outside-hitter Brianna Moore has 105 kills. Senior Savannah Regnier is a diverse player who can play right side and outside hitter and has 81 kills.

But the offense runs through junior setter Lyza Thigpen, the Area 8-4A Player of the Year, who has 685 assists in 2021 and over 1,200 assists for her career.

“Our offense can make plays. I feel good that we can generate points and put pressure on any defense,” Bowman said. “Ashlyn, Emma, Brianna all can carry us if we need them to. But Lyza is the one who drives the offense. She has been amazing this season.”

However, any hopes of a first-ever title may rely on the defense to try and counter an explosive Marist offense.

Bowman said senior Abby Szabo is the defensive specialist and has 193 digs on the season. Browning has 286 digs, Thigpen 258, Moore 234, and Regnier 232 on the season. As a group they are averaging 13.4 digs/game to keep points alive. 

“Marist has a good outside-hitter and a great setter. We need to have our defense play their best game of the season. They have to play well as a group to give us a chance,” Bowman said. “So far, they have really played well in the playoffs.”

Bowman shared a story where one of her players overheard a fan from another school during the semifinals say, “how did Flowery Branch get here?”

“That really kind of fired our team up,” she said. “But I also understand because we had never gotten out of the first round, much less to the semifinals. And now the finals. We’re probably not supposed to be here.

“We know we’re the underdog. No one except for us is thinking we have a chance. We like it that way. But I definitely feel that if these girls are on their game (on Saturday), they can win this.”

No one has ever said you can’t make history twice in eight days. The Lady Falcons will see if they can make it reality.

Meanwhile, Buford is back in the Class 6A finals to defend its 2020 title.

The defending Class 6A champion Lady Wolves will play Region 7-6A champ Sequoyah at LakePoint at 5 p.m. in the finals.

Buford opened with 3-0 wins over Allatoona and Richmond Hills in the first two rounds. The Lady Wolves knocked off Lee County 3-1 on the road and then held off 2018 state champion Pope 3-2 in a thriller in Marietta in the semifinals.

The Lady Chiefs beat Lassiter 3-2 in the semifinals after easy 3-0 wins over Carrollton, Houston County, and Kennesaw Mountain in the first three rounds.

  • Associated Categories: Sports, High School Sports
  • Associated Tags: High school volleyball, Flowery Branch volleyball, buford volleyball
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