The Walton and Pope volleyball teams will be playing host to Georgia High School Association state quarterfinal matches on Saturday.
The Walton Raiders, defending state champions and ranked No. 1 in Class 7A, will entertain South Forsyth at 2 p.m. in the Walton gym, aka The Pit. The Raiders are 37-1 on the season, and their only loss came in recently in an Arizona tournament to Mater Dei of California, which is ranked in the Top 10 nationally.
The Walton team is marking the match as a “black out”—asking fans to wear black. If you need something black to wear, they’ll be selling Black Pit Crew t-shirts and hoodies at the match.
According to the latest national rankings by MaxPrep, Walton is at No. 2 in the country and is the only school from Georgia in the Top 25.
At 3 p.m. Saturday, the Pope Greyhounds (32-8), will take on Greenbrier of Evans, Ga. (near Augusta). The Greyhounds are repeating their 2016 trip to the Class 6A Elite Eight and are looking for their first state championship since 2011.
Lassiter’s season ended earlier this week in a state tournament loss to East Coweta. The Trojans finished with a record of 18-11.
Admission to both the Walton and Pope volleyball matches Saturday is $5. The winners will advance to the semifinals next Wednesday.
The state championship round takes place next Saturday, Oct. 28, at Marietta High School.
