We Speak Volleyball

Gordon Lee Outlasts Savannah Arts Academy in Five Set Semifinal

Published

48 minutes ago

November 2, 2026

Gordon Lee volleyball players celebrate on the court in front of the home crowd.

Photo courtesy of Gordon Lee Athletics.

Gordon Lee is going back to the state final. The Trojans beat Savannah Arts Academy 3-2 on Tuesday in the GHSA Class A/AA state semifinals at LakePoint Sports Champions Center in Cartersville.

Gordon Lee controlled the start, winning the first two sets by matching 25-19 scores. Savannah Arts refused to fold. The Panthers took the third set 25-16 and the fourth set 25-18 to even the match and force a deciding fifth set. Gordon Lee steadied itself there and closed the match out 15-9.

The win sent Gordon Lee to the Class A/AA championship match against Bremen on Thursday afternoon. The Trojans entered the semifinal at 42-3. Their road through the bracket included straight set wins over Drew Charter and Thomasville, followed by a sweep of Oglethorpe County in the quarterfinals.

For Savannah Arts, the loss ended another deep October run. The Panthers finished the season 29-15 and reached the state semifinals for the fourth straight year, a streak that includes a state runner up finish in 2024. Savannah Arts had won its quarterfinal at Armuchee 3-1 to set up the semifinal meeting.

The semifinal was part of a full week of GHSA final four matches at LakePoint, where every classification settled its finalists on Tuesday and Wednesday.

No individual stat lines were reported for the semifinal. What the match produced was a finalist. Gordon Lee survived the longest night of its postseason and earned the right to play for a state championship. Savannah Arts, a Savannah program that has become a fixture in the final four, went home one win short of the final after pushing the Trojans to the very end.

We Speak Volleyball

Cardinal Newman Rallies From Two Sets Down to Beat Saint Mary’s 3-2 and Reach the NCS Semifinals

Published

4 minutes ago

November 2, 2026

We Speak Media

A Cardinal Newman player attacks against the Saint Mary's block during the NCS quarterfinal.

Photo courtesy of Cardinal Newman Athletics.

For the second time in four days, Cardinal Newman erased a two-set deficit on the road to keep its season alive, rallying past Saint Mary’s 3-2 on Saturday afternoon in the North Coast Section Division 2 quarterfinals. The Cardinals dropped the first two sets 25-22 and 25-23, then stormed back to win 25-18, 25-20 and 15-7 at Saint Mary’s in Albany.

Newman actually built a 20-15 lead in the second set before Saint Mary’s rallied to take it, leaving the Cardinals one set from elimination for the second straight match. On Wednesday, the fifth seeded Cardinals had done the same thing to Granada, winning 3-2 after trailing 2-0 in the first round.

Junior outside hitter Emma Donnelly led the comeback with a team high 21 kills after a slow start in the first two sets. Freshman Kensi Grover delivered 18 kills and 18 digs, and junior Gracie Acosta added 13 kills. Junior setter Addison Smith ran the offense with 55 assists and 12 digs, while Sabina Walsh had nine digs and three aces and senior Jordan Espinosa served five aces.

Head coach Daryl Kapis credited the serve receive passing of Adeline Brockett, Walsh, Teneli Galli and Grover for turning the match. “The four of them were the main stars of the game because of how well they passed in serve receive,” Kapis said.

The win improved Newman to 19-10 and avenged two losses to Saint Mary’s over the past year, including last season’s section semifinal. Across their first two playoff matches, the Cardinals have won all six sets they have played while facing elimination. Newman now travels to face top seeded Branson in the semifinals on Wednesday, November 4.