After defeating Sandy Creek (36-17, 3-0) in four sets in its state semifinal match last weekend, the Morgan County volleyball team (35-6, 10-0) earned a trip to the LakePoint Sports Complex Friday in Emerson for the GHSA Class 3A State Championship game.
It only took the Spike Dogs two years to return to the championship match, and head coach Kat Goodwin believes that this year’s team is different from the one that lost to Westminster in straight sets a few seasons ago.
“I’d say there are two main differences between the team from two years ago and the first one is the experience. It was a brand new experience for all the girls in 2020, and now, we have four girls that have played on that state championship court. They’re bringing a lot of knowledge and insight that’s really going to benefit the team,” Goodwin said.“The other difference is that two years ago, we were going up against Westminster, and they were almost like kin to a college team.
"We were using David and Goliath terms,” Goodwin added. “This year, we’re going into it believing we can take it. It’s tangible. This is a team we’ve played, twice in the preseason and then in a close five-set match a couple of weeks ago.”
Goodwin is referring to the Oconee County Warriors (47-7, 5-0), and the two programs know each other very well since they’ve crossed paths three times already this season.
In the preseason, Morgan County was able to defeat Oconee County both times they played each other; however, during a regular season match a few weeks ago, the Warriors came out on top over the Spike Dogs, 3-2.
Even though Oconee got the better of them in their most recent match, Goodwin believes her players aren’t at the same level as they were earlier in the season.
“A few weeks ago, they really exposed a few areas that we needed to work on, and we did. We pushed them to make changes and told the girls they had to be different in every round [of the playoffs] to keep going further,” Goodwin said. “We’re a different team. Oconee is likely doing some of the same things working on areas of their game, but the team they saw two weeks ago isn’t going to be the same team they see Friday.”
Looking ahead to Friday’s match, Morgan County will hope to lean on its young hitters like Haedyn Crumbley and Quinn Butler. Both girls have produced a lot of points for the Spike Dogs and seem to be playing at their best under pressure.
Other key players like Addy Christian and Allie Cox will be important for the Spike Dogs’ consistency and ability to get the ball positioned well enough to score at the net.
Overall, Morgan County will rely on its serving as a total team effort. Goodwin is comfortable with any of her starting six hitting it from the back line.
Ultimately, the Spike Dogs are in a similar situation but expect different results. The team beat Sandy Creek in the Final 4 when they made it two years ago, so only time will tell if Morgan County is able to come out on top and be crowned queens of the court.