Sherwood volleyball advances to GIAA Final Four

ALBANY — Sherwood Christian Academy wanted to play clean volleyball Saturday afternoon.

For long stretches, St. Mary’s Academy barely got a chance to play at all.

The senior-laden Lady Eagles dominated from the service line, controlled the net and committed few mistakes in a 25-11, 25-19, 25-5 sweep at Sherwood Christian, sending them into the GIAA Class AA Final Four with their 20th victory of the season.

And waiting there is a team Sherwood knows very well.

The Lady Eagles will face top-seeded Valwood at 10 a.m. Friday at George Walton Academy in Monroe, with the winner advancing to Saturday’s state championship match. Sherwood and Valwood split their two meetings this season, with the Lady Eagles winning the first 3-0 before Valwood took the rematch 3-2.

But Sherwood will worry about Valwood later.

Saturday belonged to the Lady Eagles — and particularly to a pair of Lizzies who made life miserable for St. Mary’s.

Lizzie Hooks stepped to the service line to open the match and immediately put the Lady Bobcats in trouble. St. Mary’s struggled to handle her serves as Sherwood raced to a 6-0 advantage behind three Hooks aces.

A timeout didn’t help.

Hooks kept serving, and the lead kept growing. By the time her first service run finally ended with a ball just out of bounds, Sherwood led 11-0.

“Our goal was to control the game from the service line, and we accomplished that in set one,” Sherwood coach Briana Collins said.

Lizzy Roberts picked up where Hooks left off, later serving six consecutive points while Hooks and Melia Mallard helped the Lady Eagles control play at the net. Sherwood rolled through the opening set 25-11.

St. Mary’s had already pulled off one upset Saturday, defeating No. 5 seed Georgia Christian 3-2 before facing Sherwood. The 11th-seeded Lady Bobcats finally found some traction in the second set.

The teams traded points early and were tied 8-8 before Sherwood began to separate itself behind Roberts’ serving and strong net play from Hooks, Justyce Perryman and middle blocker Addie Walker.

“We had some back-and-forth plays but only gave the lead up once and took it back with strong offense,” Collins said. “Addie Walker played some of her best volleyball tonight and took control at the net.”

Sherwood reached set point at 24-19 with Maddie Mallard serving. St. Mary’s returned the serve, but Roberts finished the point emphatically, hammering a spike to the floor for a 25-19 victory and a commanding two-set lead.

Then Hooks went back to the service line.

And this one was over quickly.

Sherwood scored the first eight points of the third set, with Julia Kendrick delivering two kills during the run. After St. Mary’s finally broke through, Benni Cooper answered with back-to-back aces to push the advantage to 11-1.

There would be no comeback.

Sherwood’s offense continued to attack, its defense gave the hitters opportunities and the Lady Eagles overwhelmed the Bobcats 25-5. Fittingly, Hooks finished what she had started, pounding down the final kill to send Sherwood to the Final Four.

“Our entire offensive team played strong and consistent at the net,” Collins said. “Defense did their job and allowed us to run a dynamic offense.”

Perhaps most pleasing to Collins was how little Sherwood gave away. The Lady Eagles entered the match with a goal of committing fewer than 10 errors in each set and accomplished it in all three.

“We wanted to play clean, fundamental volleyball and have fun doing it,” Collins said. “I couldn’t have asked for anything different from them. It’s exactly how you’d want to play in the playoffs.”

Now comes Valwood — the tournament’s No. 1 seed and the opponent standing between Sherwood and a shot at the state championship.

There will be few secrets between the two.

Sherwood swept the first meeting. Valwood needed five sets to win the second.

Friday morning in Monroe will settle the third.