Lady Canes advance to state quarterfinals

Cartersville volleyball defeated visiting Lafayette Wednesday night at The Storm Center to advance to the Round of 8 in the GHSA Class AAAA State Volleyball Tournament.

After winning the opening set, the Lady Canes lost the second set in the best-of-five match but took the final two sets for a 3-1 victory.

“Lafayette made some adjustments after the first set and they were up 16-4 in set three, but we rallied back to win it,” said Cartersville head coach Dustin Cothran. “Bekah Stevens was great for us tonight and while Nedu (Evans) had a few tough moments, she made some big swings when it mattered most.”

Cartersville won the opening set 25-21 before the visiting Ramblers took Set 2, 25-22.

The Lady Canes then won the final two sets 25-23 and 25-18 to secure the second round victory.

Stevens had 17 kills and eight digs while Evans (photo) had 14 kills and nine digs. Grace Hunter dished out 38 assists and had four service aces. Anna Mathis contributed nine digs, while Anna Grace Brock finished with eight digs and seven kills.

“Lafayette had a good offense,” added Cothran. “I feel like the girls did a great job defensively against them.”

Cartersville (25-11) travels to Region 3-AAAA champion Richmond Academy in Augusta Saturday for the state quarterfinals.

The other Class AAAA quarterfinal matchups Saturday include St. Pius at Northside-Columbus, Marist at Woodward Academy, and Northwest Whitfield at Columbus. The Cartersville/Richmond Academy winner will host the St. Pius/Northside winner in the state semifinals October 30.