GAINESVILLE — Everything held true to form in the Area 8-4A volleyball tournament on Wednesday.
The top four seeds -- Chestatee, North Oconee, Cherokee Bluff, and North Hall -- all advanced to the Class 4A state volleyball tournament in the double-elimination tournament at the Chestatee gym.
The top-seeded Lady War Eagles (30-14) swept No. 8 seed East Hall 2-0 and then overcame an early deficit against rival North Hall for a 2-1 to advance to the semifinals. Third-seeded Bluff (33-12) handled No. 6 seed East Forsyth 2-0 before knocking off No. 2 seed North Oconee to advance.
North Hall later advanced with a two-set win over East Forsyth while North Oconee beat Madison County in the elimination bracket.
Chestatee and Bluff will meet in one semifinal while North Hall and North Oconee will meet in the other semifinal. Both matches will be at 5 p.m. at the Chestatee gym. Bluff handed Chestatee its only Area 8-4A loss of the season earlier in the year.
The winner of the Chestatee-Bluff match will advance to the Area finals. The loser will drop into the elimination bracket with a chance to back to the finals, which are set for 7 p.m.
For Chestatee on Wednesday, the Lady War Eagles made quick work of East Hall (25-14, 25-4)led by service runs from Valiree Schmus, Hannah Farrar, Abby Allgood, and Kadence Wolfe, who had 5 aces. Schmus had 15 kills and 5 digs, Emily Graham and Abbagale Budd both added 5 digs, and Wolfe added 4 kills as well.
Against North Hall, Chestatee dropped the first set 20-25, but then rallied to win the next two sets 25-19 and 15-12 to win the match.
Schmus had a huge match with 25 kills and 7 digs while Allgood set up the offense with 32 assists. Graham added 13 digs and Budd 7 digs for Chestatee.
