By Kevin Eckleberry

kevin.eckleberry@lagrangenews.com

LAGRANGE – The Lafayette Christian School volleyball team beat Grace Christian in straight sets on Thursday to advance to the semifinals of the region tournament.

Lafayette Christian, which is hosting the  two-day tournament, will play Holy Ground at 1 p.m. today in the semifinals.

If Lafayette Christian wins, it will advance to the region-championship game at 4 p.m., and it will qualify for the Georgia Independent Christian Athletic Association state tournament.

If Lafayette Christian loses its first match today, its season will be over.

“We feel good about the contest,” Lafayette Christian coach Rene Gomez said. “When they played at our place, it was 3-1, but the games were tight. We feel confident. We feel we can play with any team in the region. Hopefully we’re due for a big win.”

In Thursday’s match, Lafayette Christian won in straight sets, 25-14, 25-12 and 25-15.

One of the stars for Lafayette Christian was Emily Wyzykowski, who excelled in the serving department.

“She really did a fantastic job of serving, serving it hard, serving it well, and serving it in seams, right between two girls,” Gomez said.

Abbey Hudson, one of the team’s five seniors, was another standout player, and Gomez said she was terrific defensively.

“Defensively, she’s just a spark plug,” Gomez said. “She’s all over the place.”

Kaitlin Tucker, another senior, had eight kills, and Gomez said Juna Young and Mae Snyder both provided a lift off the bench.