Wolfpack move closer

Greenbrier's senior-laden volleyball team need only look as far their gymnasium wall to see what's missing from their career.

Of the many banners for Wolfpack athletic achievement hanging there, including one for the several region titles their team has won, missing is a volleyball state championship.

After dominating its Class AAAAA second round match with Shiloh on Tuesday night, Greenbrier is one step closer to changing that.

The Wolfpack swept the Lady Generals in three-games (25-18, 25-16, 25-18) to advance to the Elite 8 at Parkview High School in Lilburn, Ga., on Saturday.

"This feels amazing," said senior outside hitter/setter Kailyn Blackmon, who led the team with 14 assists. "We've broken so many records already, to win state would just be the right way to top it off."

Greenbrier (43-4) bounced back after a 3-1 deficit early in the first game to rattle off eight points in a row to take control. The Wolfpack's undersized front line had their way around the net, not allowing the Lady Generals to get any closer than four points the rest of the game.

Unforced errors cost Shiloh (18-18) heavily in the second game, including a pair of rotation violations that awarded points to Greenbrier.

As was the case in the first game, once the Wolfpack stretched their lead to four points, the Lady Generals were not able to recover.

Shiloh played tough in the third game, going neck-and-neck with the Wolfpack midway through the game before Greenbrier went on a 14-7 run to send Shiloh home and its fans outside to ring the Victory Bell.

Greenbrier's defense made the difference, making a number of tough digs and blocks during long volleys. Senior Natalie Richards led the effort, tallying a team-high in digs (15) and blocks (3). She also had two aces. Lindsay Guill had 14 digs while Jordan Welch had 13.

"This win just tells us that we don't just have one person that can get the job done, we have many people that can do it," coach Debbie Born said. "We don't just have good individuals, we have a good team."

A GHSA seeding committee will meet today to decide who Greenbrier will play in the quarterfinals.

Reach Joey Jones at (706) 823-3304 or joey.jones@augustachronicle.com.