DeKalb County’s Miller Grove, Chamblee bring home Spikefest crowns

By Mark Brock

DEKALB COUNTY, GA—Twenty volleyball teams competed in the annual DeKalb County Spikefest with home teams Miller Grove and Chamblee laying claim to the titles in their respective brackets.

Miller Grove hosted nine other teams with the Lady Wolverines going 5-0 to claim the title against Lithonia in tight three-set match in the championship game.

Coach Pamela Jones-Flowers’ Lady Wolverines opened the final with a 25-22 win in the opening set only to have the Lady Bulldogs of Coach Tiffany Allen bounce back for a 25-19 win in the second set.

Miller Grove then went on to a 15-11 victory over Lithonia in the final set to claim the title.

Miller Grove reached the finals by going 4-0 in pool play with wins over Columbia (25-18), Redan (25-19, 25-22), Martin Luther King (25-12, 25-22) and McNair (25-18, 25-12).

King (3-1) was second in Group A followed by Redan (2-2), McNair (1-3) and Columbia (0-4)

Lithonia also went 4-0 to earn a trip to the championship round with victories over Cedar Grove (23-25, 25-18, +5 pts), Towers (25-11, 25-22), Cross Keys (25-27, 25-10, +8 pts) and Stephenson (25-15, 26-24).

Cross Keys went 3-1 to finish second in Group B behind Lithonia with Stephenson (2-2) in third, Cedar Grove (1-3) in fourth and Towers (0-4) in fifth.

Miller Grove Champs                                                                         Chamblee champs

Lithonia runner-up                                                              Lakeside runner-up

CHAMBLEE BRACKET

The Chamblee Lady Bulldogs completed a 6-0 run in their bracket at Chamblee rallying to knock off Lakeside (4-2) in a three-set championship final.

Coach Angela Thompson’s Lakeside team won the opening set 25-19 to take a 1-0 lead in the match before Coach Lorri Reynolds Chamblee squad knotted it at one set apiece with a thrilling 25-23 win. Chamblee then went on to win the tiebreaker 15-12 to claim the title on their homecourt.

Chamblee went 4-0 in pool play with wins over Lakeside (25-19, 25-16), Southwest DeKalb 25-10, 25-12), Tucker (25-10, 25-7) and Clarkston (25-12, 25-10) to move into the semifinals against Druid Hills. The Lady Bulldogs then swept two sets against the Lady Red Devils by scores of 25-15 and 25-18 to reach the championship match.

Lakeside reached the semifinals as the runner-up from the pool with Chamblee by sweeping their next three pool matches over Tucker (25-17, 25-16), Southwest DeKalb (25-14, 25-6) and Clarkston. Clarkston and Tucker tied for third at 1-2-1 overall in pool play while Southwest DeKalb finished 0-4 on the day.

Dunwoody (3-2) advanced as the Group B winner going 3-1 with a tie-breaking win over Druid Hills to take on Lakeside in the semifinals. Dunwoody lost its opener vs. Decatur (22-25, 19-25) before winning against Stone Mountain (25-5, 25-5), Arabia Mountain (25-15, 25-17) and Druid Hills (25-18, 25-20).

Druid Hills finished 3-2 overall after going 3-1 in pool play with wins over Decatur (forfeit), Arabia Mountain (25-23,25-19), Stone Mountain (25-10,25-7). Arabia Mountain (1-3) finished fourth in the pool and Stone Mountain (0-4) was fifth.

Mark Brock is the athletics specialist for the DeKalb County School District.