Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4A
BANKS COUNTY NEWS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2023
Volleyball: Lady Leopards win three of four region matches
By HANNAH CAUDELL
The Lady Leopards Vol
leyball team won three
out of four region matches
this week with close calls
against the Athens Academy
Lady Spartans and the Fel
lowship Christian Academy
Lady Paladins.
The Lady Leopards also
won two sets against the
Union County Lady Pan
thers, and they ended the
week with a loss after a three
set tiebreaker match against
the Providence Christian
Academy Lady Storm.
This week, the Lady
Leopards will be traveling
to Athens Academy for an
other rematch with the Lady
Spartans and the Providence
Christian Academy Lady
Storm.
Matches will begin at
5 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 3.
On Thursday, Oct. 5, the
Lady Leopards will be cel
ebrating their Senior Night
at home, honoring seniors
Bacey Ausburn. Lola Pruitt,
Addison Hoard, Caitlin
Bernier, Lillee Parson, and
Raeden Hunter after the
5 p.m. match scheduled
against the Franklin County
Lady Lions. T
he Lady Leopards will
also be facing off against
the East Hall Lady Vikings
at 7 p.m.
RECENT ACTION
The Lady Leopards won
against Athens Acade
my and Union County on
Wednesday dining their
home matches. Against
Athens Academy, the Lady
Leopards won in a three set
showdown with set scores
of 25-18 (L), 25-11 (W), 16-
14 (W).
“The Athens game was
a nail biter for sure,” Head
Coach Whittney LaHayne
said. “It was a huge win,
placing us in an excellent
spot going into our area
tournament. My favorite
part was when we came
back and turned the tide in
our favor.”
Notable plays were made
by Lillee Parson, Shae Britt,
Emmie Chitwood, and Bac
ey Ausburn at the baseline
as they dealt service aces
that were difficult to receive
from the Lady Spartans.
Addison Hoard stood
out as the team’s leader in
offense. As the game pro
gressed, Hoard was able to
perform 11 kills and 30 at
tacks at the net.
Against Union County,
the Lady Leopards took
both sets with scores of 25-
22,25-11.
Lola Pruitt and Chitwood
shone as leaders on offense
during the Union County
game. Pruitt was able to col
lect 14 kills and 23 attacks
against the Lady Panthers,
and Chitwood once again
succeeded at the base line
with 15 service aces.
Last Thursday started
off with an exciting match
against Providence Chris
tian with three set scores of
25-23 (L), 25-20 (W), and
15-11 (L).
Despite the loss, the
Lady Leopards returned
to the away court to face
off against the Fellowship
Christian Lady Paladins.
It was another challeng
ing three sets for the Lady
Leopards, but they came out
on the other side with a win
with set scores of 25-22 (L),
25-17 (W), and 15-6 (W).
The Lady Leopards now
have a 25-7 record this sea
son overall, and a 6-2 record
in the region. The Leopards
now hold second place in
the Region 8AA competi
tion.
“The girls are showing
us that they’ve got the grit,
tenacity, and persistence to
continue on the road to suc
cess,” LaHayne said.
gANKBQO
11
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Photos by Hannah Caudell
Bacey Ausburn tries to touch the ball over the net during the Lady Leopards’ game against
Union County.
>*_; i
Bryanna Hernandez leaps to attack the ball over the net to
overwhelm the Athens Academy defense.
I
Lola Pruitt gives teammate Emmie Chitwood a low-five after
Pruitt earns a point for the Lady Leopards.
Emmie Chitwood gets into position as the ball heads for her
outstretched arms.
Shayna Vickery receives the ball from an Athens Academy
server.
Addison Hoard takes the defensive position to keep the ball
in play.
Lola Pruitt gets low to receive a ball from an Athens Acad
emy server.
Cross Country: BCHS Leopards
compete in Mountain Invitational
BY HANNAH CAUDELL
The Leopards Cross
Country team traveled to
Unicoi State Park on Thurs
day to compete in the an
nual Mountain Invitational
hosted by White County
High School.
Pepper Davis once again
wowed the competition
when he placed in the top
10.
Three of the four com
peting Lady Leopards also
placed in the top 100.
This week, the Leop
ards will be traveling to
the Jackson County Airport
to participate in the Jeffer
son Invitational on Friday,
Oct. 6, hosted by Jefferson
High School. Races begin
at 4 p.m. The varsity girls
are scheduled to race first
at 5:55 p.m., and the varsity
boys are scheduled to race
at 6:35 p.m.
At the Unicoi Event on
Thursday, among the Leop
ards, Davis once again
placed in the top 10 out of
166 competitors in sixth
place with a time of 17 min
utes and eight seconds.
Jakub Cote, Carlos Blan
co, and Zion Rathbun also
competed in the race and
persevered to the finish line.
Cote ran a time of 21 min
utes and 43 seconds, earning
him 127th place. Blanco’s
time was 27 minutes and
five seconds, and he placed
163rd. Rathbun wasn’t far
behind his teammate, placed
164th with a time of 27 min
utes and 18 seconds.
Senior Camdyn Poole
once again led the Lady
Leopards during the Varsi
ty Girls’ race on Thursday.
Poole placed 38th out of
136 competitors with a time
of 23 minutes and 47 sec
onds.
Maggie Irvin and Bailey
Baker also competed, both
placing in the top 100. Ir
vin ran a time of 24 minutes
and 27 seconds, earning her
48th place. Baker placed
70th with a time of 25 min
utes and 14 seconds.
Melany Camarena also
persisted toward the finish
line, earning 115th place
with a time of 28 minutes
and 46 seconds.
The Banks County News
Homer, GA 30547
Founded 1968
Tlx official legal mgan of Banks County, Ga.
Mike Buffington Co-Publisher
Scott Buffington Co-Publisher
Angela Gary Editor
BanksNewsTODAY.com
(SCED 547160)
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