As area tournaments wound down

earlier this week, four local teams in three classifications found themselves

in the state sectionals, which begin this weekend at various locations.

Play began last Thursday in the AAAAA area tournament with the elimination

of Mundy's Mill and Riverdale. Mundy's Mill lost to McIntosh

and Fayette County, while Riverdale lost to Starr's Mill and Lovejoy.

Lovejoy lost to East Coweta Thursday, but managed to stay alive in the

tournament by beating Riverdale, securing a playing spot Saturday against

Newnan. Fayette County also lost Thursday against Newnan, but beat Mundy's

Mill and remained in the playoffs to face East Coweta Saturday.

Proceeding to Saturday play undefeated were McIntosh, Starr's Mill,

East Coweta and Newnan.

McIntosh opened play Saturday by beating Newnan in three straight games

(25-15, 25-17, 25-17), while Starr's Mill beat East Coweta in three

straight games (25-17, 25-19, 25-23). This forced Newnan and East Coweta

to play back-to-back while facing the teams who came out of Thursday's

play with one loss.

East Coweta eliminated Fayette County with a four-game win (25-19, 19-25,

25-15, 25-18) and Newnan eliminated Lovejoy in three straight (25-19,

25-13, 25-22). This allowed the two Coweta schools to join McIntosh and

Starr's Mill in the next round.

East Coweta prevailed over Newnan (25-22, 22-25, 23-25, 25-14, 15-6) and

the Lady Cougars were eliminated. Meanwhile, McIntosh pulled out a four-game

win over Starr's Mill (25-19, 17-25, 26-24, 25-22) to guarantee the

Lady Chiefs a spot in the area finals last night.

Starr's Mill grabbed the other spot by beating East Coweta (21-25,

25-11, 20-25, 25-16, 15-11) and producing an all-Fayette final. Regardless

of last night's results, which were achieved after this paper went to

press, Starr's Mill and McIntosh will both advance to the state sectionals.

In their area tournament at Lithia Springs, Sandy Creek finished second

and earned a spot in the state sectionals. They started last Thursday

with a win over Northgate (25-12, 25-12, 25-14) and won their opening

match Saturday against Chapel Hill (25-19, 25-14, 25-14).

The Lady Patriots pushed Woodward, one the state's top-ranked teams, to

five games in a tough loss (25-21, 8-25, 27-25, 18-25, 11-15) but rebounded

to defeat Chapel Hill again (19-25, 25-19, 25-13, 25-12). That match put

them in the state sectionals.

In the tournament final, Woodward defeated Sandy Creek in three straight

games (25-15, 25-10, 25-14).

Landmark Christian was scheduled to host Holy Innocents Tuesday night

in their area finals, but had already locked up a spot in the state sectionals.

The most recent state coaches rankings, released Monday, show Westminster

first in the state, followed by Woodward, Marist, Landmark, St. Vincent's,

Sequoyah, McIntosh, Wesleyan, Savannah Christian, Oconee County and Starr's

Mill.

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