MARIETTA - Top-seeded Pope and second-seeded Kell advanced to the winners' bracket semifinals of the double-elimination Area 1AAAAA volleyball tournament, which began Thursday at Sprayberry High School.

The defending area champion Lady Greyhounds (37-3), ranked third in the GaSports.com Volleyball Coaches Poll, defeated fourth-seeded Walton, the state's fourth-ranked team, in straight games (25-23, 25-19) after receiving a bye into the second round.

The Lady Longhorns (27-18), who had a tougher route to the semifinals, topped No. 7 seed Campbell (25-6, 25-12) in the first round and outlasted No. 3 seed and ninth-ranked Lassiter (18-25, 25-21, 26-24) in the second round to earn their way to the semis.

Pope and Kell guaranteed themselves a spot in next week's Class AAAAA state sectionals as the top four finishers from each area are given an automatic pass to the playoffs.

"They were really close (matches)," said Pope head coach Bryan Jones. "Walton played extremely well.

"As a unit, our focus has always been team. And I'm really proud of the way we fought (Thursday night)."

The Lady Greyhounds trailed, 13-8, in the first game when Jones called his first timeout.

"I told my team during the timeout that we need to play with more aggression," he said. "If (Walton) was going to beat us, I wanted them to beat us fair and square with us playing hard and aggressive."

The result was a steady turnaround for Pope, which fought back to cut its deficit to 20-17 before taking a 23-20 lead on its way to winning Game 1.

The Lady Greyhounds led 17-16 in Game 2 and scored eight of the final 11 points down the stretch to clinch.

Maggie Hoey finished with 20 assists for Pope. Jessica Kasprowicz had nine kills and Caroline Baudrand totaled 11 digs.

Lassiter, which led Kell 10-6 early, never let up en route to the Game 1 victory. Tied at 19-19 in Game 2, the Lady Longhorns pulled ahead for a 23-21 advantage after a Lady Trojans service error.

A kill from Emily Barnhill and an ace from Jasmine Cranford sealed the second game for Kell.

Game 3 was another back-and-forth affair until Kell took a 24-21 lead. A service error started a Lassiter 3-0 run to tie the contest at 24-24, but a Lady Trojans hitting error, followed by a service ace from Katherine Wright, allowed Kell to complete the come-from-behind rally.

"This is a great rivalry between Lassiter and Kell," said Kell head coach Gena Ridings. "There was a lot of emotion at the end of the match. It's great for us to be guaranteed a spot in the state playoffs."

Olivia Corr and Cranford led the Lady Longhorns with eight digs apiece. Amanda Jones had nine kills and five blocks, while Taylor O'Brien had 21 assists.

In other action Thursday night, Walton moved on to face Pope after beating host and fifth-seeded Sprayberry (25-23, 25-14). Lassiter cruised by No. 6 seed Wheeler (25-10, 25-15). The Lady Wildcats were able to bounce back in the losers' bracket, where they beat Campbell (25-19, 25-13).

Area 1AAAAA competition will continue Saturday morning at Walton High School. Pope will face Kell at 10 a.m., with the winner advancing to the area final, which starts at 1 p.m. The loser will play at 11:30 a.m. for another opportunity to move on to the final.

In the losers' bracket, Sprayberry will face Lassiter and Wheeler will take on Walton, with both matches start at 9 a.m. The winners will face off at 10 a.m.

cwhite@mdjonline.com

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