The Gilmer Lady Cats put up a fight in their state tournament return.
GHS kicked off the Class 3A volleyball state tournament last Wednesday in LaFayette. Gilmer entered the event seeded No. 25, while the Ramblers occupied the No. 8 seed. LHS snatched two close wins through two sets and won handily in the third for a 3-0 victory.
“They played their hearts out. The girls played so hard, and the third set came in and what has plagued us all year started plaguing us,” head coach Maria Huelsman said. “We just couldn’t finish and had some mental errors. I was proud of them and couldn’t ask more.”
After narrowly taking the opening sets 25-22 and 25-20, the Ramblers came away with a third set win, 25-13. Huelsman noted that GHS was unable to overcome passing and setting errors, which aided the Ramblers’ victory in the deciding set.
This was Gilmer and LaFayette’s third match of the year as the Ramblers are also a region opponent. LHS defeated Gilmer twice during the regular season. With the GHSA’s current state playoff model, region teams can play each other at any point of the tournament. Prior to last season, the earliest such matchup could occur was in the Final Four.
“Talking with their coach, he said, ‘We definitely didn’t want to play against you guys’ and that ‘If you weren’t in this region, you’d be a much higher seed,’” Huelsman said. “Our region is the hardest in the state and nice of him to say that.
“I feel like we’re better than top 25. I know there are teams up north and down south we’d absolutely annihilate. It is what it is and that’s the way it goes, but I do think it stinks that we have to play someone from region in the first round of the state playoffs. They (GHSA) just have to do better than that.”
Gilmer was 14-24 on the season, and the Cats achieved their first state berth since 2018.
“It was a pretty successful season,” Huelsman said. “They couldn’t get wins before, and now they’re playing at a totally different level. There is a lot to be proud of. I think region is definitely Gilmer’s next year.”
The match not only marked the end of the Cats’ season but also Huelsman’s coaching career in Gilmer. She has split time between Ellijay and Warner Robins where her husband still works. She plans to relocate there permanently once their house in Ellijay is sold.
“It just didn’t make sense for us to pay rent down there and a mortgage up here,” Huelsman said. “He can’t find a job here making what he does down there. It makes sense for us to go back there, which is sad because this is where we’re supposed to retire.
“(Coaching here) wasn’t the easiest of times. My first year (6-30) was really rough and last year (5-32) we just weren’t very good. The girls were amazing this year, and I hate leaving them. There were external issues this year that made it very difficult. It stinks to leave like this, but it is what it is.”