Hooch Volleyball Loses Close State Finals to Walton

Chattahoochee High School Volleyball played the Walton Raiders Friday, Nov. 1, in the State 6AAAAAA Volleyball finals and came up short, losing to the Raiders 25-27, 23-25, 25-19, 19-25. Hooch ended their 2013 season 50-10. They won their way into the state finals by beating Johns Creek, for the third time this season, in the semifinals in front of a record crowd.

Friday, the Cougars were led by captains Haley Templeton, who had 20 kills and 23 assists, and Claudia Coco, who recorded 27 digs. Hooch and Walton went back and forth the entire first set. Lexi Kingree provided key blocks to keep the Cougars close. Walton won game 1 27-25 on a kill by Jessica Sloan.

Set 2, Hooch was up early by 5 but let it slip away and lost by 2. In set 3, Hooch started slowly but gained momentum when Miami signee Templeton began attacking the second ball and throwing Walton out of system. Tennessee-bound Coco had several digs that led directly to Hooch points; she also had a serving run that added to Hooch’s lead.

In the 4th set the Cougars continued to play strong but Walton’s aggressive serving was too much for Hooch’s back row to handle.

This is the second time in four years that Chattahoochee Volleyball has been in the state finals. Four-year varsity veterans Templeton, Coco and Troy signee Reina Terry have played in two state finals and one semifinal match in their high school careers.