The Savannah Christian volleyball team showed in capturing the Georgia High School Association Area 3-A/AA championship on Thursday why the Raiders are perennial contenders for state titles.
The result was a 3-0 sweep at home for the top seed over second-seeded Savannah Arts Academy: 25-13, 27-25, 25-16.
Champions, together. Savannah Christian celebrates after sweeping Savannah Arts to claim the Area 3-A/AA volleyball title. Photo courtesy of Prep Sports Report.
As impressive as the match was, the Panthers made a serious push to even the best-of-five after two sets, only for the Raiders to successfully push back. Savannah Arts took an early lead in a must-win third set before SCPS rallied and closed out the match with a strong finish.
“I think we can make a deep run in the playoffs,” said Julie Jones, in her 29th season as head coach at her alma mater, Savannah Christian (Class of 1993). “The key will be playing our best volleyball at the right time – serving tough, limiting unforced errors, winning serve-receive and staying aggressive when the pressure rises like we did tonight in sets two and three.”
Pressure was a key word used by both head coaches. Lauren Lord, in her 13th season at Savannah Arts, was going for her 13th consecutive region title across various classifications and regions. The Panthers also are perennial contenders, having advanced to four consecutive state semifinals, including in 2024 when they became the first Savannah public high school to reach a title match.
“Savannah Christian played a very good, hard game,” Lord said. “They run a quick offense, and their defense was also very tough, and they were on it as well.
“My girls played hard. I think they were feeling a little bit of the pressure. I thought that overall, they played really well, especially in the second set. I think we just got in our heads a little bit there. Overall, I do think Savannah Christian played a really nice game. They’re a very tough opponent.”
The Raiders (42-3) had defeated the Panthers (26-14) on Sept. 29 in two sets, finishing 10-0 in the region to 9-1 for SAA. Lord thought Savannah Christian might have run its offense a little bit faster on Thursday.
Savannah Christian’s Myla Shippy goes up for one of her kills against Savannah Arts. Photo courtesy of Prep Sports Report.
The first set quickly got away from the Panthers, as the Raiders went up 3-0 on Heidi Henninger’s second straight ace, and the lead grew to 11-3 on a Myla Shippy kill. The advantage grew to double digits, 16-6 and then 18-6 with Carinne Cason serving for SCPS.
SAA closed to within seven, 20-13, before SCPS reeled off the last five points with sophomore Ella Burgstiner serving – the last on an ace. The Raiders never trailed in the 25-13 opener.
“We had the mindset going into the game that we’re going to come out of the gate ready to go, on fire,” said Burgstiner, a second-year starting setter. “Let’s end this in three (sets), let’s all work together, let’s trust each other and work as a team. That’s how we did it.”
SAA responded in the second set by taking a 3-0 lead, only for SCPS to forge the first of 10 ties at 3-3. Ava Dancey’s kill got the edge back for the Panthers, and teams went back and forth through the remainder of the set with the Panthers’ largest lead at four points and the Raiders’ at three.
Savannah Arts Academy’s Ellie Ayala (No. 2) tips the ball over Savannah Christian blockers Cassidy Canavan (No. 1) and Savannah Griffin (No. 3). Photo courtesy of Prep Sports Report.
The point to make any highlight reel came with the match tied at 22. SCPS libero Avery Ritzert ranged far beyond the backline to chase down a wayward dig and keep it in play, but her hustle wasn’t rewarded when the Panthers’ Ellie Ayala delivered a powerful spike to win the point.
Ritzert, a junior, seemed to be in the right place at the right time throughout the match.
“That’s her style,” Jones said. “She gets after it. That’s why she’s one of the best. Very aggressive.”
Savannah Christian junior Avery Ritzert seemed to be in the right place at the right time throughout the match. Photo courtesy of Prep Sports Report.
They were tied at 24, and SAA led 25-24 with a chance to win the set when Cassidy Canavan’s spike for a kill drew SCPS level. Kinslee Whitton served for the Raiders when the Panthers lost control of the ball on the next point, and when Canavan’s spike was blocked into the SAA side of the net for the set winner.
Savannah Christian’s Burgstiner said the Panthers’ strong play in the second set “put some fire in us. We were ready to work together, put the ball away and get some first-ball kills.”
Jones thought her team was playing too tight in serve-receive before making an adjustment.
Savannah Christian sophomore Ella Burgstiner approaches the ball for a kill attempt during the Raiders’ match against Savannah Arts. Photo courtesy of Prep Sports Report.
“If we do that, we can’t run our offense,” Jones said. “That’s our strength. We just kept telling them to stay loose. We don’t have to have perfect passes. We just need something up, high in the middle, and our setters are good enough to get it where it needs to go, and they did. They found their way out, which is good.”
SAA started strong in the third set, taking its largest advantage of four points at 4-0, 5-1 and 6-2. SCPS grabbed its first lead, 10-9, on Whitton’s ace. The squads tied a total of three times, the last at 11-11, before the Raiders led the rest of the way, surging ahead by as many as 10 points before the 25-16 final.
Outside hitter Shippy made her presence felt more often in the second and third sets with her leaping ability and powerful spikes from the left on the front row – well known to any opponent with a basic scouting report. It was to the Raiders’ credit that they were more unpredictable as players such as Kamila Salinas and Burgstiner got in on the action at the net.
“People know we’re going to set Myla,” said Jones of Shippy, a 6-foot junior transfer from The Habersham School. “We need to do different things because they’re just going to camp out on her. Tonight, we did, more so in the second and third sets, we started going more to our right side, which made it hard on their block, and that’s the name of the game. You’ve got to spread them out and not be predictable.”
Jones said her defense had to contend with junior Ayala, a setter and “probably their best hitter,” as well as 6-foot-3 senior Charlotte Browne making an impact at the net. Lord lauded Ayala, Browne and Dancey among those who played well for the Panthers.
Savannah Christian athletic director Greg Phillips presents the Area 3-A/AA championship trophy to the Raiders as coach Julie Jones applauds. The celebration followed the Raiders’ sweep of Savannah Arts for the title. Photo courtesy of Prep Sports Report.
Savannah Arts and Savannah Christian head to the GHSA Class A/AA state tournament awaiting the power rankings for seeding, site and opponent, with the Raiders in position to host as one of the top seeds. The Panthers know they have been tested in a region including SCPS, St. Vincent’s and Calvary Day.
“I am super proud of my team,” Lord said of SAA playing for the Area crown. “It just shows the grit and determination that my girls have. I feel like we’re going to be a hard team to beat come state (tournament) time.”
Lord hit her milestone 250th career coaching victory early this season, while Jones recently earned her 900th career win. Each believes they have a team capable of adding postseason victories to their totals.
Photo credit: Prep Sports Report
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