West Forsyth High School

Volleyball: Orange crush

No. 2-ranked Warriors end West's season

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KENNESAW — Almost anywhere you look, orange decorations announce the approach of the scariest holiday of the year.

On Saturday, a gymnasium filled with orange signaled the presence of one of the scariest volleyball teams in the state — No. 2-ranked North Cobb.

The “Big Orange” Warriors (48-9) ended West Forsyth’s late-season run with a 25-21, 25-17, 25-16 victory at home in the Class AAAAA state quarterfinals.

West’s appearance in the quarterfinals matches the program’s deepest playoff run, achieved in 2009 in Class AAA.

Head coach Jim Orr said he was pleased to reach the elite eight at the Class AAAAA level, especially since West lacks the established middle school feeder programs which benefit many of the other schools in the state’s largest classification.

“It’s always gratifying to have the girls reach that level, especially when we’re competing in a big school league,” Orr said.

“For us to be able to develop the kids as fast as we do, it’s a testament to the girls and how much they put into it.”

After dropping the first two games against the Warriors, the Wolverines gave a valiant effort in an attempt to stave off elimination in game three.

West (25-17) held one-point leads of 10-9, 11-10, 12-11, 13-12 and 14-13, but was never able to push the advantage beyond a single point. North Cobb tied the game each time before reeling off four consecutive points with Lauren Schmitz serving.

The Warriors followed that run by winning seven of the last nine points to secure a trip to the state semifinals.

“[North Cobb’s] passing, setting [and] hitting was consistent,” Orr said.

“Even as the match went on, their serving got better. I can’t emphasize enough how much the extra years of touches mean at this level.”

Haley Ashworth and Amanda Amburgy led the Wolverines in kills with seven apiece, while Maryn Tanksley added four.

Maddie Chilton led the team with 17 assists, while Danyelle Drummond was tops among all West players with five blocks.

“It was almost like we had two seasons,” Orr said, reflecting on the 2011 campaign.

“We started off the season really strong ... then it was just injury after injury [before our late run]. So much of this sport is based on timing ... it takes a little while to get that timing back.”

West will lose five seniors to graduation in the spring. Orr said their experience will be difficult to replace.

“We take a lot of pride in our floor defense,” Orr said. “There are an awful lot of balls that people think they’ve won that we just keep playing.

"It's going to be hard to replace that floor leadership."