A first round 3-0 sweep of Riverdale in the first round of the Class 5A State Volleyball Playoffs made Chamblee the lone winner out of six DeKalb County schools to open state playoff action on Wednesday.

The home-standing Bulldogs used a big front court and some sharp serving to easily dispatch of the Riverdale Raiders (14-13).

Chamblee (36-8) was tied 1-1 when Cana Dee took a feed from Rachel Loftus for a big smash for the kill in the middle of the Riverdale defense to put Chamblee ahead for good in the opening game.

A pair of big put away hits by Kayla Manning and another by Camille Van Leer and the lead had expanded to 6-1. Becca Evans serving helped Chamblee push out to a 12-3 lead as she won six consecutive service points.

Kennedy Preval took over at the service line with the score 15-6 in favor of the Bulldogs and with the help of her teammates won 10 consecutive points to complete a 25-6 opening game victory.

It was all Chamblee in the second set with Manning, Dee and Natalie Roberts all with big spikes to keep the momentum going. Evans would get on a roll from the service line with several aces as she would put the Bulldogs on a 10 point run.

After a Chamblee shot went out of bounds with the lead 23-5, the Bulldogs got the service back and Manning ended the game at 25-5 for a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five match.

Dee put a shot away for a 4-2 Chamblee lead in the final game of the match and then served the Bulldogs to an 11-2 advantage with a couple of aces along the way.

Coach Lorri Reynolds substituted throughout the final game, but Manning would finish with three big hits including one with the lead 22-10 to give Chamblee the service back. The Bulldogs would close out the game with three consecutive points for a 25-10 match clinching win.

Chamblee hosts Harris Co. (40-12) a 3-0 winner over North Springs on Thursday, October 20 at Chamblee at 6:00 pm.

In other Class 5A action, Arabia Mountain (22-7), Southwest DeKalb (15-13), Miller Grove (13-17) and Lithonia (12-12) all had their seasons come to an end with 3-0 losses.

Lakeside (21-18) ended its season with a 3-0 loss to Walton (35-6) in the first round of the Class 7A state playoffs.

Dunwoody (31-16) defeated 3-0 Lovejoy Thursday in Class 6A play while Stone Mountain (17-13) fell 3-0 to Southeast Bulloch (18-16) on the road in a Class 3A first round playoff.

Dunwoody moves on to face the winner of Lanier/Effingham County on Thursday (Oct. 20). If Effingham wins, Dunwoody must go on the road. If Lanier wins, Dunwoody will host.

Redan and Towers had their respective Class 3A first round matches delayed to Monday (Oct. 17) due to school closures in the Savannah area caused by Hurricane Matthew. Redan (28-2) hosts Savannah (11-12) at 5:30 pm and Towers (7-15) travels to Islands (20-9) for a 5:00 pm match.

All second round volleyball state tournament matches have been moved to Thursday, October 20 to aid in the play of several of the classifications postponed by damage from Hurricane Matthew.

DCSD VOLLEYBALL STATE RESULTS
Wednesday, Oct. 12
Class 7A
Walton (35-6) 3, Lakeside (21-18) 0
Class 5A
Chamblee (36-8) 3, Riverdale (14-13) 0
Starr’s Mill (20-22) 3, Arabia Mountain (22-7) 0
McIntosh (22-7) 3, SW DeKalb (15-13) 0
Buford (37-4) 3, Miller Grove (13-17) 0
Whitewater (34-4) 3, Lithonia (12-12) 0

Thursday, Oct. 13
CLASS 6A
Dunwoody (31-16) 3, Lovejoy 0
CLASS 3A
Southeast Bulloch (18-16) 3, Stone Mountain (17-13) 0

DCSD VOLLEYBALL STATE SCHEDULE
Monday, Oct. 17
CLASS 3A
Savannah (11-12) at Redan (28-2), 5:30 pm
Towers (7-15) at Islands (20-9), 5:00 pm

Thursday, Oct. 20
CLASS 6A
Dunwoody (31-16) vs. Effingham Co./Lanier winner, TBA
CLASS 5A
Harris Co. (40-12) at Chamblee (36-8), 6:00 pm