The Savannah Christian volleyball team is one of the top programs in Georgia this season, across all classifications, and the Raiders continued to roll in their three-set sweep of visiting Holy Innocents in a GHSA Private School quarterfinal on Saturday, Oct. 24.
The Raiders improved to 46-3 on the season and haven't lost a set in the playoffs, but the Bears tested the Raiders in a memorable first set that SCPS pulled out with a 29-27 win, before going on to take the next two sets by scores of 25-19 and 25-18.
Junior setter Carinne Cason ran the offense well, and Myla Shippy, the 6-foot junior outside hitter, provided plenty of punch for an offense with no shortage of weapons. Kamila Salinas made her presence felt on the right side, and junior libero Avery Ritzert anchored a stellar defensive effort for the Raiders.
Now the Raiders will travel to Atlanta for a semifinal matchup with defending state champion Lovett (34-6) at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28, at Lakepoint.
It's been a memorable year for the Raiders and head coach Julie Jones, in her 29th season leading the program at her alma mater. She reached the 900-win career milestone in September and has now reached her 13th Final Four. Her teams have reached the state finals six times but never won a championship.
The last time SCPS reached the state semis was in 2016, when Jones' oldest daughter, Landon, was a senior libero for the Raiders. Landon, who went on to play at Georgia Southern, was on hand with her husband and 3-week-old daughter, Brook, to see the win over Holy Innocents Saturday.
"Life is so good right now," said Jones, a first-time grandmother, whose other daughter, Logan, is an assistant coach for SCPS. "We really wanted to win this because Holy Innocents knocked us out of the playoffs last year, and they had the same team coming back. They have gotten better, but we have gotten better, and I'm really excited about how the girls executed today ― especially with their defense. That was probably the best defensive game we've played this year."
Jones said she was proud of how her team responded in the tight, back-and-forth, first set.
"We always preach that things are not always going to go our way," Jones said. "They are going to get theirs, but it's all about how we respond. But we never really got down ― we never got frustrated. We just snapped out of it and focused on the next play ― which is volleyball, and if you can learn how to do that ― I think that's big for us."
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah Christian volleyball back in state semis for first time since 2016