Panthers start new streak with eight straight wins, move to 21-3

Union County closes a remarkable August with a 21-3 record, already good enough for the second-most wins in program history even if the season ended today. Along the way, Union knocked off three top-10 teams — Banks County, East Jackson and Franklin County — during its eight-win week, improving to a perfect 6-0 against ranked opponents this season.

Now, after 24 matches in the first month, the Panthers will open September with a relatively light week, with Tuesday’s trip to Ellijay to face Gilmer and Dalton the only matches on the schedule.

Panthers 2, Franklin County 0 — Union County traveled to Carnesville on Tuesday and opened the week with a straight-set win.

The Panthers needed extra points to survive the first set, 28-26, before holding off a late Lions rally, 25-21, in the second set for their second win of the year over the No. 3-ranked Lions.

Senior Amie Sauers led the way for Union County, collecting six kills, three digs, an ace and a block. Emile Ekeberg had five kills and two blocks; senior Austin Beal finished with four kills and three blocks; and Emry Sosensky recorded three kills, nine digs, an ace and a block.

Senior Sofia Foster notched three kills and five blocks, while Kamryn Brown logged two kills, six aces, four digs, a block and 18 assists.

Other contributors included Samantha Combs with nine digs and an ace, senior Blaire Hedden with three digs, and Evyn Davis with two digs.

Panthers 2, Commerce 0 — In the second contest of Tuesday’s tri-match at Franklin County, the Panthers had little trouble with Commerce, winning 25-18 and 25-13.

Four different Panthers contributed five kills apiece: Beal, Ekeberg, Foster and Sosensky. Sauers ended the match with four kills, Lyla Price had three and Brown had two.

Union County totaled nine aces in the two sets, led by three from Sauers. Combs and Hedden had two each, while Davis and Brown chipped in one apiece. Beal topped the Panthers with two blocks, followed by one apiece from Ekeberg and Foster.

Brown dished out 26 assists to go with six digs. Combs and Hedden recorded seven digs each; Sauers had six digs and Sosensky finished with three.

Panthers 2, Banks County 1 — The Class AA No. 10-ranked Leopards gave Union County a scare in Thursday’s trip to Homer, taking the first set before the Panthers rattled off two straight.

Banks County took the opener 25-19, but it was all Union County in a 25-16 set-two victory. In the third, things looked bleak for the Panthers, who trailed 7-2 and 8-3 in the 15-point set, prompting a timeout by coach Megan Brown.

Later, still trailing 9-4, Foster hammered home three consecutive kills at the net, sparking the late surge. Foster scored her fourth straight point by stuffing an attack at the net, then Brown dumped one over the net, and Hedden followed with an ace to put Union on top 10-9.

The Panthers went back to Foster for another point before Banks finally stopped the 6-0 run with consecutive points to tie things up. Back-to-back points by Sosensky put her team in front to stay, followed by kills from Brown and Sauers to end the match.

Foster and Sauers shared the team lead with nine kills each, while Sosensky finished with six. Beal and Ekeberg had four kills each; Brown had three and Hedden added one. Hedden also led Union County with three aces, while Sauers and Sosensky had two each. Brown ended with one ace.

Brown had 29 assists, while Beal, Ekeberg, Foster and Sosensky each recorded a block. In the digs department, Combs led the way with 12, Sosensky and Sauers both had 11, and Brown and Hedden had nine apiece.

During the win, Combs surpassed 500 digs for her career and enters this week just eight away from breaking Charlei Robinson’s (Class of 2025) program record of 550.

Panthers 2, East Jackson 1 — Union County needed three sets to topple Class 4A’s No. 7-ranked East Jackson in the second matchup of Thursday’s tri-match in Homer, winning 26-24 in the first and 15-12 in the deciding set.

Down 22-19 in the first set, three straight kills from Sauers had the Panthers all square before the Eagles answered to regain the lead at 24-22. But Union County wasn’t done, closing out the set with four straight points, beginning with another Sauers kill. After Beal evened the score, Sosensky’s kill moved the Panthers to set point, where Ekeberg blasted a shot at the net to close it out.

East Jackson took the second set 25-16.

Sauers and Sosensky led the way with eight kills each. Foster had seven, Beal had four, Brown and Ekeberg finished with three kills each, and Price added one. Davis ended with two aces, while Brown and Sauers had one apiece.

Ekeberg recorded two blocks and Beal finished with one. Brown handed out 25 assists and logged seven digs. Sosensky collected 15 digs; Combs and Sauers had nine apiece; and Hedden finished with six digs.

Panthers 2, Pickens 1 — Union County entered Saturday with a target on its back at the Rally on the Ridge tournament in Blue Ridge and opened by holding off the Dragons 26-24 in the first set and 15-13 in the deciding set after Pickens took the second 25-18.

Sauers picked up where she left off, leading the Panthers with nine kills, five digs and an ace. Foster logged six kills and three blocks, while Beal recorded six kills to go with one block.

Sosensky delivered five kills, 10 digs, a block and an ace. Ekeberg had five kills and two blocks. Brown had 27 assists, two kills and two aces. Combs paced Union County with 16 digs.

Panthers 2, Prince Avenue Christian 0 — The Wolverines traveled from Athens to the mountains Saturday with a 15-1 record but proved no match for Union County, which controlled both sets 25-14 and 25-13.

Once again, Sauers dominated at the net and the service line, finishing with seven kills and five aces. Sosensky had six kills and four digs; Beal and Foster had four kills each; and Ekeberg chipped in one kill.

Brown led Union with 18 assists and seven aces. Hedden served up two aces, and Davis added one. Combs collected nine digs.

Panthers 2, Lumpkin County 0 — The Indians entered the weekend with a 10-3 mark but couldn’t keep pace with Union County, which took the straight-set win, 25-19 and 25-18.

Sauers continued to deal the hot hand for Union County, pacing her team with nine kills, along with one ace and four digs. Sosensky recorded seven kills and seven digs; Foster logged five kills; and Ekeberg finished with four.

Brown had 22 assists, two aces and one kill. Combs went for eight digs, two aces and a kill. Beal added a kill, and Hedden logged six digs.

Panthers 2, Pickens 0 — Union dispatched the Dragons in the tournament championship by scores of 25-14 and 25-16.

Beal and Sauers put away seven kills each; Ekeberg had six, Sosensky added three, Foster had two and Price recorded one kill. Sauers paced Union County with four aces, Brown had two and Combs notched one.

Beal and Ekeberg both logged three blocks; Foster had two and Sauers had one.

Sosensky recorded 11 digs and joined Union County’s 500-dig club alongside Robinson, Combs and Haley Noe (Class of 2021). Sosensky is also 25 kills shy of breaking the program’s career record held by Reese Jones (Class of 2026).

Combs finished with 10 digs in the win over Pickens. Brown ended the match with 24 assists and five digs.

Up next: Union County visits Gilmer on Tuesday to meet the Bobcats at 5 p.m. and Dalton High School at 6 p.m.