By Alicia Couch Payne
Senior Alexa Fortin is one of several talented players powering North to victory. Photo credit: Nicole Seitz
The season for the North Gwinnett High School varsity volleyball team has started off strong. The Bulldogs have a talent rich team which has given them the edge in their matches. North’s Caitlin O’Farrell and Alexa Fortin were selected as part of the Gwinnett Daily Post’s Super Six for volleyball. North capturing two of the six selections for the Super Six for the whole county tells people about the level of talent to be found on this team.
The Bulldogs played at home on August 28th. They beat Chattahoochee with scores of 26-23 and 25-19. North also beat Archer 25-6 and 25-8. Caitlin O’Farrell was the top hitter for North with 15 kills. Malia Fisher and Autumn Hamilton also gave strong performances with kills of 13 and 11. Senior Alexa Fortin had 39 assists, nine kills, and seven aces on the day’s play.
On August 30th, North Gwinnett traveled to Lanier High School. The Bulldogs defeated their host Lanier 25-18 and 25-16. Collins Hill was the next team to fall to North with scores of 25-12 and 25-7.Caitlin O’Farrell once again led the hitting for North with 12 kills. Also hitting strong for the Bulldogs were Tatiana Morales and Ramey Salyer with eight kills each. Jill Tontillo contributed 12 digs against Lanier and Collins Hill.
Four opponents fell to North Gwinnett on Saturday, September 8th at North Cobb’s Warrior Classic. The Bulldogs beat Lee County, Chamblee, Etowah, and East Coweta. Leading the way for North was Alexa Fortin with 79 assists, five kills, and 18 digs. Also playing strong for the Bulldogs were Caitlin O’Farrell with 32 kills and 11 blocks, Malia Fisher had 24 kills, Tatiana Morales had 15 kills, and Ramey Salyer ended the day with 14 kills.
North Gwinnett improves to 19-5 on the season. With the regular season running through the month of September, plenty can happen but odds are, North Gwinnett’s varsity volleyball team will be in the playoffs come the beginning of October.
