Blessed Trinity rallies past Cartersville into state volleyball final

Blessed Trinity is one win from a state volleyball championship.

The Titans defeated Cartersville 3-2 in a five-set semifinal Wednesday, Oct. 28, at LakePoint Champions Center, according to MaxPreps. Blessed Trinity won 25-18, 26-28, 29-31, 25-16, 15-12 to advance to the GHSA Class 5A state title match.

The Roswell school will face region rival Marist in the championship at 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, at the LakePoint Sports Complex in Emerson, according to a schedule published by the Athens Banner-Herald. Marist swept North Oconee in three sets in Wednesday's other semifinal, Bartow Sports Zone reported.

Blessed Trinity and Marist share Region 6-AAAAA, according to the GHSA's region alignment page. Marist held the No. 1 seed in the GHSA's post-season rankings with a 35-3 record entering the playoffs. Blessed Trinity was No. 2 at 40-8.

A five-set comeback

Cartersville had beaten Blessed Trinity 2-0 in the regular season on Sept. 15 and took a 2-1 set lead in the semifinal after winning marathon second and third sets, 28-26 and 31-29, according to Bartow Sports Zone. The Titans responded with a dominant fourth set, 25-16, then pulled away in the fifth to win 15-12.

Senior middle blocker Destinee Chukelu stood out throughout the match. Chukelu had back-to-back service aces to help Blessed Trinity build an early 8-3 lead, and she recorded key blocks and kills across all five sets, Bartow Sports Zone reported. Riley Gilmore delivered the match-ending kill in the fifth set after consecutive blocks by Raquel Mina and Gilmore had pushed the Titans' lead to 12-9.

The win avenged last season's quarterfinal loss to Cartersville.

Season context

Blessed Trinity improved to 44-8 with the semifinal victory. The Titans swept Dutchtown 3-0 in the first round on Oct. 15 and Statesboro 3-0 in the second round on Oct. 21, according to MaxPreps.

Chukelu, a 6-foot-1 senior committed to play at Cal-Berkeley, told Appen Media in September that she wanted to leave a legacy in her final season. Head coach Ashley Woodward has guided the program through a season that included hosting the 18th Serve for a Cure tournament on Sept. 26.

Junior libero Abby Woodward eclipsed 1,000 career digs during that September tournament, according to Appen Media.