October 1, 2025—Two highly ranked volleyball programs in Georgia met on the court for a tremendous head-to-head matchup between Cobb schools. North Cobb High School came into the clash with a 29-10 overall record and ranked as the fifth best team in the state’s 6A classification according to MaxPreps. Harrison High School ranked eighth in those same standings and entered with a 26-9 record. Fans in attendance witnessed a rollercoaster showdown, with both teams trading blows throughout the five sets.
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North Cobb coach Stephen Sansing felt this would be an appropriate way to prepare his team for the postseason.
“We scheduled this on purpose for the competition,” he said, “against a team that we could possibly meet in the playoffs.”
With both teams battling for favorable postseason seedings, it was no surprise the competition turned out fierce in the end. Match host North Cobb began slowly, however, perhaps affected by the emotion and sentimentality of Senior Night recognitions. Harrison took advantage and won the first set surprisingly easily 25-16. The Warriors answered, showing comeback strength in the second, nearly reversing the score with a 25-17 win of their own.
In the third and fourth sets, tremendous volleyball was played on both sides of the net. The Hoyas, led by freshman outside hitter Sydney Hardy and junior right side hitter Chloe Bowens, pulled out a narrow win in the third, 25-23, to give Harrison a chance at a clinching win in the fourth. However, North Cobb’s tandem of senior outside hitter Mia Goldbach and sophomore middle hitter Zoe Oye helped the Warriors storm back for a classic 25-22 fourth set win and force a decisive final set.
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In a surprise to no one, this duel was destined for five sets. After an early back-and-forth point capture, North Cobb put together a string of winners, building a lead that Harrison could not overcome. The Warriors took the final frame 15-10, still a dramatic finish to an already intense contest.
North Cobb’s top performers included Goldbach and Oye (17 kills each), senior libero Hannah Nicholson (35 digs), junior setter Ashley Hendershot (31 assists), and senior middle hitter Isabela Lane (five blocks).
The Hoyas saw outstanding production from Hardy, who had a double-double with a match-high 20 kills and 14 digs, senior libero Addison Cooley (28 digs), and junior setter Skye Palmateer (22 assists).
Despite the outcome, Harrison coach Kristina Johnson was pleased with her team’s performance.
“We knew it was going to be tough coming into North Cobb,” she said. “Even though the match didn't swing our way, I'm proud of the way our girls came in, handled the adversity, and fought, so I'm proud of that.”
Warriors coach Sansing was impressed with both squads.
“They're definitely a good team and we feel like we're a good team,” Sansing said after the match. “To go back and forth like that, this is just like postseason volleyball. That was fun and that's why we play.”
