Congratulations TO THE Class of 2022! Wolves refuse to lose

Volleyball team avenges regular season loss against rival Sequoyah to bring home state championship

The Buford High School volleyball team ended a stellar season on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021, winning its second consecutive state title.

The win against Sequoyah brough home the fourth state title overall for the volleyball program. After falling to Sequoyah during the regular season, Buford avenged the loss. The Wolves (374) would take three out of four sets against Sequoyah 25-18, 28-26, 2527, 25-22 during the championship match held at Lakepoint Sports Complex.

After having to rally from behind in their semifinal match against Pope, the Wolves, not wanting a repeat of that situation, came out of the gate aggressively in their first set with the Chiefs (51-4).

The Wolves took the first two sets, even overcoming deficits at times. They barely lost their third set but were able to take home the title in just four sets.

Senior Mikayla Hayden, a University of California at Berke-

SENIOR VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS:

ley commit, led Buford’s offense with 16 kills in the championship game. According to Daniels, Hayden, one of the team’s captains, was a leader on and off the court for the Wolves this year.

“She is respected by all of her teammates and is a leader on the court, not only because of her play, but because of her calm demeanor in any situation … she is the player you go to in a pressure situation,” Daniels said. “She was our most consistent hitter with a hitting percentage of .420, and was voted all-region, all-county, and all-state this year.”

Also contributing on the offense were junior Sydney Austin (11 kills), senior Kiana Polk (10 kills) and junior Ashley Sturzoiu (7 kills). Junior setter Polly Cummings had 48 assists on the day, placing her over 1,000 career assists.

Defensively, the Wolves got help from senior Camryn Carlton, freshman Alexa Flowers, sophomore Ella Jane Williams and junior libero Dylan Cummings.