Lake Oconee Academy entered the state playoffs as the No. 3 seed from Area 5, but the Lady Titans got a tough first-round draw with No. 2 seed Mt. Pisgah Christian.
The Lady Patriots ended their season last week, defeating the Lady Titans in straight sets.
Lake Oconee Academy was competitive in the opening set, but Mt. Pisgah relied on solid net play from Madison Childress and Lane Kruse to secure a 25-11 victory.
The Lady Patriots continued their dominance in the second set, dominating the Lady Titans by a score of 25-6. The third and final set score of 25-12 ended LOA’s season.
The Lady Titans finished 2022 with a 12-15 overall record and a 7-3 mark in area play.
“It is always tough to end the season with a loss as everyone has worked so hard to go as far as possible in the playoffs,” Lake Oconee Academy head coach Chris Ingle said. “However, it has been a great accomplishment to qualify for the postseason for the last five years and make those lifelong memories together as a team and a family.”
The Lady Titans entered this season with some questions as to who would replace former team captains and class of 2021 seniors, Sarah Grace Ingle and Charlee Scheller.
It came to be that seniors Whitley Cannon, Love Kalpak and Raine Ansley led the way. A trio of juniors, Anna Sewell, Lea Eley and Chloe Manville, also stepped up as well.
Ingle acknowledged before the season he was excited about where the direction of the program was headed.
“When I started here, we had eight players in the entire school. We ended last year with a full middle-school team, a full JV team and a full varsity team, even a sixth-grade intramural team,” Ingle said in July. “In four years, we’ve gone from eight players to 88 players. which is what I’m most proud of, more so than any one accomplishment.”
The Lady Titans return a lot of their talent next season, including Sewell, Manville and Eley. Plus, sophomore Victoria Goubran and freshman Kallyn Black come back.
According to MaxPreps. com, Goubran led the team in serving aces and was second in ace percentage. The sophomore also had a team-high in total blocks.
Manville and Eley also had productive seasons for the Lady Titans, each finishing third and fourth in digs. They also placed third and fourth, respectively, in serving aces.
“This season has been a great learning experience for our young players that will help them in the future,” Ingle said. “Our seniors grew as leaders throughout this year and will be stronger by learning through some adversity. That is ultimately what it is all about, building great relationships and developing leaders through this game that they love to play.”