Dunwoody’s Amanda Gild dives to keep a ball in action against Lanier. (Photo by Mark Brock)

The No. 5 ranked Dunwoody Lady Wildcats took control late in all three games of their Class 5A playoffs quarterfinal round match against the Lanier Longhorns on the way to a 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-20) sweep.

The victory moved Dunwoody (36-15) into the Elite 8 for the third consecutive season where they will host unranked Allatoona (34-17) at 3:30 pm on Saturday at Dunwoody.

Passing, touch and timely put-aways paved the way for Dunwoody which trailed 18-17 following a serve by Lanier’s Jessica Helmink late in the first game.

Madison McKnight playing at the net saw openings and with a soft touch put the ball in the open areas of the Lanier (30-22) defense as Dunwoody forged ahead 20-18.

Bridget Boyle nailed a shot off a Lanier block attempt and a combined block by Caroline Madden and Tally Davidson pushed the advantage to 23-20 before Amanda Gild served out the game for the early 1-0 lead.

Leading 20-19, Dunwoody reeled off five straight points as the duo of Boyle and McKnight teamed up for two quick points with McKnight setting Boyle up to find the open spaces against Lanier to finish the game at 25-19 to take control of the best-of-five match at 2-0.

After tying Game 3 at 18-18, Maggie McCrory came on to serve for Dunwoody and picked up four consecutive points to give the Lady Wildcats some breathing room at 22-18. Boyle and McKnight again teamed up on back-to-back plays with nice set ups by McKnight to allow Boyle to go for the kills.

Dunwoody players celebrate Class 5A Sweet 16 victory over Lanier. (Photo by Mark Brock)

Boyle added a block at the net and another put away on a McKnight pass to put the Lady Wildcats at match point up 24-20. Boyle served out the game and match as Lanier failed to return the final serve of the match.

In the state reseeding process following the quarterfinal round Dunwoody picked up the No. 4 seed and hosts the No. 5 seeded Allatoona Buccaneers.

The two teams did not meet in the regular season and have five common opponents this season. Allatoona went 1-4 against Lambert, Harrison, River Ridge, Riverwood and McIntosh while Dunwoody was 3-3 having played Lambert twice and splitting matches.

Class 6A
The 2016 season came to an end for the Lakeside Lady Vikings with a 3-0 loss to Mountain View last Tuesday.

Lakeside (28-13) finished the season with the Sweet 16 appearance and as the Region 2-6A champions.

DEKALB CO. VOLLEYBALL STATE PLAYOFFS
RESULTS
Tuesday, Oct. 20
CLASS 6A
MOUNTAIN VIEW (32-17) 3, LAKESIDE (28-13) 0

CLASS 5A
DUNWOODY (36-14) 3, LANIER (30-22) 0

SCHEDULE
Saturday, Oct. 24
Allatoona (34-17) at Dunwoody (36-14), 3:30 pm