Lithia Springs is returning to the state volleyball tournament, but the Lady Lions are going as the No. 3 seed and must open on the road.

In Saturday’s Area 5-AAAA Tournament at Allatoona High School, Lithia finished third behind Hillgrove and North Paulding.

Things got off great for Lithia Springs as the Lady Lions defeated Hiram in two sets and then beat Hillgrove in a three set match.

“We got off to a great start. It looked like everything was falling into place,” said Lithia coach James McCall. “Then, we got a little overconfident I guess, and things went downhill.”

Lithia faced North Paulding and won the first set 25-9. But, they dropped the next two and fell into the losers bracket.

Hillgrove then came back and edged Lithia Springs in another long match, winning in three sets.

Hillgrove and North Paulding will play later this week for the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. Host Allatoona finished fourth.

“We moved Leah Benton to a different position and she played great,” added McCall. “As for our team, we got ourselves into great shape, but just couldn’t finish.”

McCall says that since Alexander beat his team during the season, they should be the county champions and presented the Lady Cougars with the trophy.

Lithia Springs will be going on the road in the opening round of the state, playing against the No. 2 team from Area 1. Should Lithia win two games in the state, they’ll advance to the elite eight at Marist.