Riverwood volleyball hosts Newnan at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Raiders' first state playoff game in three years. The first-round matchup is part of the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) Class 6A state tournament.
The Riverwood Athletics Department announced the home playoff date this week, confirming the Raiders will face Newnan on Saturday, Oct. 17 at Riverwood. Tickets will be available through GoFan. Riverwood Athletic Association (RAA) passes will not be accepted because the state playoff is a GHSA-managed event with standard ticket pricing.
The berth caps a turnaround season for a program that went 11-19 in 2024 before improving to 19-16 last year. Riverwood entered the Region 7-6A tournament in early October as the No. 1 seed after posting a 26-8 record and a 5-1 region mark, according to the Fulton Neighbor.
Coach E'Lisa Ladson, who joined the Riverwood faculty in 2023 and won the school's Leigh Hudson Female Coach of the Year award, credited her roster's experience in an early October interview with the Fulton Neighbor. "I've got a lot of girls that are not new to varsity level, so they're finally kind of settling in this season, so we've got a lot of pieces in all positions that really work," Ladson said.
Senior outside hitter Sasha Francis, a Yale volleyball commit, leads the Raiders with 223 kills. Senior setter Syler Lewis paces the team in both digs (186) and assists (412). Those numbers were reported as of early October.
Riverwood last reached the postseason in 2023, when the program went 30-12-1 and advanced to the second round.
A win Saturday would keep the Raiders alive in the Class 6A bracket. The GHSA state championship is scheduled to begin Oct. 29.
