Cartersville volleyball coach Alicen Pearson named Region 7-5A Coach of the Year

Cartersville High School's volleyball coach Alicen Pearson has been named the Region 7-AAAAA Coach of the Year. The announcement was made at last week's region tournament.

In her second season with the Purple Hurricanes, Pearson has led Cartersville to a region runner-up finish and a state tournament opening round win over Northview.

Cartersville travels to Veterans -- just south of Warner Robins -- Saturday for the state tournament's second round.

"It meant a lot to me," Pearson said of the honor after the Northview match. "I've worked a lot over the past few years, and I feel like I'm in a spot where I'm actually able to show them a lot more than I used to — compared to the beginning of my coaching career.

"To see my peers vote on me and see that in me was really inspiring, and I appreciate it a lot."

In her first season leading the Canes, Pearson — a Sandy Creek graduate and former head coach at Cass — also guided Cartersville to the second round after earning a No. 3 seed for the state tourney and winning a road match over Villa Rica.

Three Cartersville players were all-region selections. Senior London Moultrie, junior Lauren Lawson and junior Mia Nicklas received those honors.

Woodland senior Delaney Tuplin was an all-region selection along with Cass senior Bailey Elrod.

Blessed Trinity, the regular-season and tournament champion in Region 7-AAAAA, collected four all-region selections including player of the year honors for Cate Wright.