SAVANNAH — The Calvary Day (18-10, 12-0) volleyball team kept the Region 3-AAA championship trophy on its home court. The Lady Cavaliers captured their second straight region title Saturday, showing the same energy that’s defined their unbeaten region run this fall.
Head Coach Kelly Griffin (Back row second in from right) and Assistant Coach Chad Carver ( first back row )pose with the Calvary Day School Lady Cavaliers after capturing their second straight GHSA Region 3-AAA Volleyball Championship on October 4, 2025, at Calvary’s home gym.
Team members: Alyssa Gibson (2), Brie Sumner (3), Daisy Robertson (5), Emma McIntosh (6), Eve Thompson (7), Macy Watkins (10), Sara Harper Bennett (12), Georgia McBride (15), Kinsey Prado (21), Ella Phillips (22), Caroline Kennedy (25), Alaina Moutrie (28), and Vanessa Healy (31). (Photo courtesy Prep Sports Report)
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Calvary opened the day with a hard-fought semifinal win over HV Jenkins (18-10,8-3), taking the match 3–1 (25–16, 25–11, 20–25, 25–14). With that victory, the Lady Cavs advanced to face Islands in the championship, where they never looked back, sweeping Islands (18-11, 10-2) 3–0 25–14, 25–20, and 25–13 to repeat as GHSA Class 3A-Region 3 champions. Islands swept Southeast Bulloch (14-18, 7-4) to reach the championship match 25 -18, 25 -16, and 25 -15.
Islands High School Head Coach Jessica Decker stands with her team after finishing as the GHSA Class 3A, Region 3 runner-up on October 4, 2025, at Calvary Day School.
Team members: Olivia Kiley (1), Sadie Symms (2), Mia McKinnon (3), Maddie Herron (4), Katie Sweeney (5) – holding the runner-up trophy, Ra Parrish (6), Adeline Delashmet (7), Kinsley Harlan (10), Mia Whitmore (17), and Mary Paige Grady (19). (Photo courtesy Prep Sports Report)
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Calvary's gym was buzzing as players and fans celebrated the team's back-to-back region titles. Islands finished as runner-up, and HV Jenkins took third place after sweeping Southeast Bulloch 25-18, 25-19, and 25-16. All four teams can now look to the state playoffs with one week left in the regular season.
H.V. Jenkins High School volleyball team stands together before their GHSA Class 3A, Region 3 semifinal match on October 4, 2025, at Calvary Day School.
Team members: Arah Maningas (1), Aniah Douglas (2), Emily Carter (4), Jamya Cohns (5), Jazlynn Woods (6), Zoe Diogoz (7), Michaela Lyles (9), Taylor Young (11) (Captain), Madison Glover (12), Heaven Arkwright (14), and Reina Anderson (15). Coaches Drew McKenzie and Jason Hallman not pictured. (Photo courtesy Prep Sports Report)
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First-year head coach Kelly Griffin credited her team’s toughness and poise as the keys to capturing another region championship. “We had a couple of strings of points that didn’t go our way, but the girls kept fighting,” Griffin said. “At one point, we were down seven, but they battled back. They just have that fight in them and weren’t willing to lose. As the match went on, we started playing smarter and making better shot selections.”
Griffin, in her first year as Calvary’s head coach, said the goal all season was to defend last year’s championship — and her players delivered. “Last year we came here and won, so that was our goal again,” she said. “It feels great to accomplish that and not let up at the end of the season. This group of seniors are strong leaders. Getting to know them last year and coaching them this year made things a lot easier. They’re fighters, and it’s been really fun coaching them.”
Even after the celebration, Griffin was already focused on areas to improve before the state tournament. “We definitely saw some weaknesses tonight, and we’ll work on them,” she said. “We’re lucky to have a few practices before the playoffs, so we can clean things up before we see whoever’s next.”
Islands Finishes as Region Runner-Up
Despite falling short in the GHSA Region 3-AAA championship match against Calvary Day, Islands Head Coach Jessica Decker said the tournament provided valuable lessons and motivation for her young team.
“It’s tough losing the region championship match,” Decker said. “But this gives us an opportunity to reflect and see what we need to improve upon. Obviously, Calvary is a really strong team. We held with them, especially in the second set, and I think there are a lot of positives we can take from that second set in particular and use those moving forward.”
As the Region 3-AAA runner-up, Islands secured the No. 2 seed heading into the GHSA Class 3A state playoffs, which could mean hosting a first-round match. “If we get to host the first round of state as the second seed in our region, I definitely anticipate us moving on to the Sweet 16 and hopefully the Elite Eight after that,” Decker said. “I think that if we play together as a team, if we put all the good that we have together and we’re able to sequence it — from pass, set, to hit — then we’ll be able to go pretty far.”
With only three seniors graduating, Decker said she’s optimistic about the program’s long-term outlook. “We have really good chemistry, and that’s something that has enabled us to do what we’ve done so far this season,” she said. “We may not have the tallest players or the most powerful players, but we have some really dedicated players who are putting everything they have out there. We’re going to miss our seniors, but the returning players will bring back the same chemistry that we had this year.”
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PHOTO CREDIT: Prep Sports Report
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