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The Grace Christian Academy Lady Cougars tied for third in state after a win against Harvester Christian in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

The Lady Cougars went into the match against Harvester a little unsure.

“We were kind of nervous,” Caroline Wells said. “They had been undefeated until we played them.”

Kate McRae agreed and said they had watched footage of Harvester prior to playing them; however, Harvester was a lot better in person, but the team quickly adjusted and won the first set.

Harvester came back and won the second set, forcing a tiebreaker. The Lady Cougars came out victorious in the end 15-7, guaranteeing themselves a spot in the semifinals.

The team faced off against Habersham, where McRae said the team did better than they ever thought they would.

“I think we did a really good job,” Senior Avery Andrews said. “Lainey and Caroline did a good job blocking and the back line had some amazing digs.”

Wells echoed Andrews and said she was super proud of her team, because one of Habersham’s players was the best girl they had ever been up against.

Win or lose, Andrews, McRae and Wells were all proud of the season and how the team came together.

“This was our best season yet,” McRae said. “We came together as a team and it made a big difference. The team we were at the beginning of the season and the team we are now is such a change. We now play more as a team.”

Andrews attributes that closeness as a result of team bonding on out of town tournaments.

“We played better as a team because we were closer,” Andrews said. “We grew a lot as people.”

While McRae was sad this is her last season, she couldn’t have asked for a better one. She thinks the team has a lot to look forward to and hears this summer they are trying to form a travel volleyball team, which she hopes works out for everyone.