We Speak Volleyball

East Lake Sweeps Freedom 3-0 to Open Regional Play

Published

1 hour ago

November 2, 2026

East Lake volleyball seniors posing on Senior Night.

Photo courtesy of East Lake Volleyball.

East Lake opened the state playoffs with a clean road win on Wednesday night, sweeping Freedom 3-0 at Freedom High School in Tampa in a Class 5A Region 3 quarterfinal between two Tampa Bay programs.

The Eagles took control early and never let the Patriots build momentum, winning the sets 25-14, 25-16 and 25-12. The result moved the fourth seeded Eagles past the fifth seeded Patriots in the first round of regionals, with a place in the regional semifinals on the line for the winner.

Madelyn Moog led the East Lake attack, finishing with 18 kills while hitting .304, according to the MaxPreps box score for this match. East Lake finished with 51 kills as a team, along with 45 assists, 76 digs and 4 aces in the sweep. Freedom finished with 21 kills, 21 assists, 73 digs and 11 blocks as a team. Launa Law led Freedom with 7 kills, and Ellie Cole recorded 5 total blocks for the Patriots, according to the same MaxPreps box score.

For Freedom, the loss closed the season. The Patriots finished 16-5, a record shown on their MaxPreps schedule and also listed for Freedom on the NFHS Network page for this playoff match. Freedom had entered the regional quarterfinal as a district champion and as the fifth seed in Region 3, after a strong season in Tampa.

East Lake moved on to the regional semifinal on Saturday, October 24, where the Eagles lost 3-0 on the road at Sunlake. Sunlake entered that round as the top seed in Region 3 after beating Palmetto Ridge in the quarterfinals, and the Seahawks went on to host Charlotte in the regional final. East Lake finished its season at 19-10 after the Sunlake match, closing a playoff run that started with a convincing sweep at Freedom.

We Speak Volleyball

Columbus Stuns Top Seeded North Hall in Five Sets to Reach State Final

Published

7 minutes ago

November 2, 2026

We Speak Media

Columbus volleyball players celebrate on the court during the state semifinal.

Photo courtesy of Columbus High Athletics.

Columbus was not supposed to be here. The fifth seeded Blue Devils beat top seeded North Hall 3-2 on Tuesday in the GHSA Class AAAA state semifinals at LakePoint Sports Champions Center in Cartersville, and the win sent Columbus to the state championship match. It was the second straight five set win for the Blue Devils.

North Hall looked every bit the favorite early. The Trojans opened the first set on a 10-0 run behind the serving of Brinley Simmons and won it 25-18. Columbus answered in the second set, and senior middle hitters Leah Richardson and Taylor Myers took over at the net. Myers delivered 3 kills and 2 blocks in the final 10 points of the set as Columbus evened the match with a 25-23 win.

North Hall took the third set 25-12 and moved in front again. Columbus responded once more, with Richardson and Myers combining for 6 kills and 3 blocks while closing out a 25-18 win in the fourth set. In the fifth, Columbus finished the upset 15-7.

North Hall entered the match 41-6, riding a 21 match winning streak, and was playing in the Final Four for the second time in program history and the first time since 2017. Columbus, coached by Carson Laye, improved to 34-14 and moved on to face Oconee County in Thursday’s championship match.

The Blue Devils had already beaten Woodland Stockbridge in five sets in the quarterfinals. Against North Hall, they proved that result was no fluke, knocking out the bracket’s top seed one win short of the final.