St. Pius Weekly Sports Recap

The volleyball and softball teams opened up regular season play last week as cross country joins the fray this weekend with the opening races for both squads. Football, ranked No. 4 in the pre-season Atlanta Journal-Constitution AAA poll will lift the lid on its season Aug. 31. Competition cheer continues to perfect its routine in anticipation of the opening meet in mid-September.

The Golden Lion volleyball team, ranked No. 1 in the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association AAA poll to start the season, split its first six matches of the year. After knocking off No. 9 Roswell (6A) in the season opener, St. Pius (3-3) dropped a decision to No. 5 Chattahoochee (6A) later that same afternoon.  Over the weekend, the Golden Lions defeated Chattahoochee, and No. 1 Eagle's Landing Christian (1A) before falling to No. 2 Harrison (6A) and No. 1 Sandy Creek (4A), in a rematch of last year’s AAA state championship game. The netters are back in action this week, taking on No. 1 Lovett (2A) and No. 4 Wesleyan (2A) on Wednesday before travelling to Northview for five matches on Saturday.

The softball team opened with five games last week in a tournament at Wesleyan. The Golden Lions (1-4) dropped tilts to No. 1 Buford, No. 5 Wesleyan (2A), No. 6 Loganville (5A) and a 2-1 decision to Northview. The lone victory at the tournament was a 6-5 win over No. 10 First Presbyterian Day (A). St. Pius is back in action at home this week against Eastside on Wednesday, followed by Westminster on Thursday.

The boys' and girls' cross country teams, ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in AAA, respectively, open the season Saturday morning. The boys' squad will travel to Duluth to participate in the Stage Races at the River Green Complex. The lady harriers will head to Fayetteville to the Mercy Invitational at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic High School. Both teams return three of the top five runners from each squad last year.

Football and competition cheer will be the last of the six fall athletic programs to see regular season action. The Golden Lions will hit the gridiron at Westminster on Aug. 31 while the cheer squad will participate in the Bulldog Classic at North Gwinnett on Sept. 22.