Cartersville carried the torch for Bartow County's volleyball teams, returning to the state tournament, and it had some solid reasons for that success.

That's why Lady Hurricanes figure prominently on The Daily Tribune News' all-county volleyball team, where they join some talented players from other Bartow County teams.

A key cog offensively for the Lady Hurricanes, who made a run at the state playoffs despite a slow start, was Samantha Conley.

The senior setter helped pave the way for her team's victories with 457 assists and 48 aces.

"Samantha is a second-year setter with soft hands who always puts the ball in a hitter's zone," Cartersville head coach Scott Busby said.

The all-county team draws one of its defensive stars from that same Lady Hurricane squad in Megan Patton, libero.

The defensive specialist, also a senior, was credited with 79 digs, 117 saves and 29 aces.

"Megan is the backbone of our defense and is very good at reading hitters and covering others on our team," Busby said.

Katie O'Conner, Cartersville's middle hitter, also had an impressive year, registering 172 kills and 37 blocks.

"As a freshman, Katie led our team in kills and blocks," Busby said. "She was a force on offense and defense."

Jessica Boss, a junior, is the outside hitter, a position in which she made 70 kills.

"Jessica is an excellent outside hitter with a powerful approach and smooth arm swing," Busby said.

Woodland High's Whitney Waits, also a setter, registered 30 aces, 28 kills, 17 blocks, 256 assists and 210 passes for the Lady Wildcats, who finished 8-25 in what could perhaps be described as a rebuilding year.

"Whitney has really grown tremendously as a player," Lady Wildcat head coach David Condon said of the senior. "I have had the opportunity to coach her all four years of high school, serving as her junior varsity coach for three years and her varsity coach this past year. She is very competitive and has always led by example.

"The past two years she has become much more of a vocal leader."

Rebekah Ayers, outside and middle hitter from Woodland, was a force offensively and defensively, tallying 32 aces, 87 kills and 26 blocks.

"Rebekah has always been a leader," Condon said. "I got to coach her when she was a freshman and now as a senior, so I've had the chance to see how well she has developed. She played the first half of the season injured, but didn't complain and wanted to be out there. If not for that, I think she would have easily had a much better season statistically and we would have been in more games."

Cass High's Karlee Winecoff, an outside hitter, is one of the key reasons the Lady Colonels tripled their number of victories from the previous year for head coach Alicen Lee.

Lee said Winecoff's junior season shows how much a player can improve her game if she is determined and puts the work into it.

"She never touched a volleyball until last year, when she played junior varsity. After that, she played club and just kept improving," Lee said. "This year she showed everyone they needed to pick it up."

The coach said Winecoff played several positions well.

"We moved her to middle hitter, and she showed she can be strong wherever we put her," Lee added.

She said Winecoff also was a tough server.

"One time she seemed to serve half the game," she added. "It was amazing how many consecutive aces she served."

Receiving honorable mention to the all-star team were: Ashley Metroka, Adairsville; Sarah Lillard and Johannah Nunez, Woodland; and Silken Soloman and Kim Vargas, Cass.