Area Volleyball Conference Championships: Cougars top Knights; Gators Blank Eagles

1009 WBHS. SCHS. Lead — West Bladen and South Brunswick slugged it out Thursday, trading the end several times in the quest for the title.

In Dublin, West Bladen not only lost to South Brunswick, but also lost a chance to clinch a tie for the Southeastern Conference Championship Thursday, falling 3-0 to the Cougars.

West Bladen finished second with a 8-2 record while South Brunswick finished the regular season undefeated 10-0.

The Cougars came out hot in the first set running out to a 10-1 advantage over the Knights. The Knights came alive with a seven-point run to cut the lead from 13-3 to 13-10. West Bladen continued the offensive assault, taking a 20-17 advantage, forcing South Brunswick to take a timeout.

The timeout must have worked as the Cougars went on an eight-point run to close the set 25-20. The second set was all Cougars as the Knights never got a good run going, losing the set 25-11.

The Lady Knights scramble as the SCHS Cougars send a ball over the net.

The third set was a classic. With West Bladen fighting for its life, no team got ahead by more than three points. the Knights took an early 7-4 advantage but South fought back for the tie and lead 8-7. The teams traded leads and had five ties, when with the match tied at 22-22, South Brunswick called a timeout. It turned out to be the winning strategy as the Cougars prevailed 25-23 to win the third set and match.

South Brunswick finished with a regular season record of 15-5 and the conference championship. The Knights concluded the regular season with a 14-3 overall record. Jaylyn Clark led the Knights with eight kills. Emmy Bryant contributed 14 digs while Greer Pope handed out 17 assists. South Brunswick is a 5A team and will wait for the for the 5A playoff brackets to be announced. The Knights will enter the 3A playoffs and also await the 3A tournament pairings announcement.

In the Carolina Conference, East Columbus swept East Bladen in volleyball 3-0 in The Swamp Thursday.

The Gators (11-1, 17-1) won the sets by 25-18, 25-12, and 25-22 to claim the conference title. The Gators were led by Malia Graham with 16 kills. Brittany Mitchell gave out 20 assists in the victory. Taylor Dowless had 10 kills for the Eagles.

The Gators are a 1A school and will await the pairings to be announced for the playoffs. East Bladen (6-6, 6-14) are in the 2A classification and will await the pairings for the 2A playoffs.