STAFF REPORT

The Woodland High volleyball team picked up a pair of non-region wins Thursday evening at home, beating both Chattooga and Murray County in comfortable sweeps.

In the first match against Chattooga, Woodland won 25-20 and 25-9.

Emmalee Cigainero had two aces, four kills and three digs against Chattooga; Caroline Gore had eight kills and four digs; Grace Webb had three kills, three digs and an ace; and Sydney Molinaro had four kills, 14 assists, four digs and an ace. 

The second match against Murray County was more of the same, with Woodland winning 25-18 and 25-14. Webb had six kills, five blocks and four digs in that match; Molinaro added three kills, seven assists, four digs and two aces; and Cigainero had nine digs and two aces.

Woodland returns to action on Tuesday at home against Model and Haralson County.

Cartersville sweeps home-opening matches

The Cartersville High volleyball team swept two non-region opponents Thursday night in its home opener at The Storm Center.

The Lady Canes took down Bremen 2-0, starting off the match with a close win in the first set, 25-22, before pulling away for a convincing 25-7 win in the second set.

“We’re still dealing with some inconsistency, and again, it put us in a deep hole in the first set against Bremen,” Cartersville coach Dutch Cothran said. “At one point, we were down 10. The girls showed a lot of heart and battled back to take that first set.

“The second set, we were much sharper, and we made far fewer mistakes, which is what we’re going to have to do in order to win matches this season.”

Both sets were close in Cartersville’s 2-0 win over Class 5A Villa Rica in the second match, but the Canes won each 25-22.

“This was a tough match,” Cothran said. “They battled us hard, and several times we had to come back from two or three points down.”

Anna Grace Bock tallied 21 combined kills between the two matches, adding 10 digs and three aces against Villa Rica.

“I felt like Anna Grace Brock played like we’ve grown accustomed to seeing,” Cothran said. “She can find a hole in the court as well as any young player I’ve ever coached. Tonight, she wasn’t just finding them, she was hitting them repeatedly.”

Cothran also cited the play of Lauren Wenzell for helping the team pull off the sweep. Wenzell had 10 total kills, 24 digs and five aces between the two matches.

“Lauren Wenzell has also been a big contributor so far this year,” Cothran said. “Tonight was no different. She plays very calmly and is a steady player with a lot of experience.”

Setter Macey Vaughn added 43 assists in the match.

The Lady Canes, now 4-6 on the young season, will host Rome and McEachern Monday night at 5 p.m.