With middle hitter Karis Sloan leading the way, Johnson rallied to defeat Walnut Grove in four sets and clinch the Area 8-AAAA championship Saturday at Lanier High in Sugar Hill.

Coach Deborah Eidson said it’s the Lady Knights’ first Area title in the eight years that she has been with the team.

“We give all the glory to God,” Eidson said.

Sloan was named the tournament Most Valuable Player as she recorded 25 kills and 14 blocks on the day.

Second-seeded Johnson (27-13) went 4-1 for the tournament, defeating Lanier (25-20, 25-13) and Chestatee (25-23, 25-12) before falling to Walnut Grove (25-19, 16-25, 29-25) in the two teams first meeting of the day.

The Lady Knights turned around and defeated Chestatee a second time (25-21, 25-21) to set a rematch with the Lady Warriors for the area title.

Johnson dropped the first set 16-25, but recovered to win 25-21, 25-19 and 25-21 in the best of five match to secure the title and the No. 1 seed for the state tournament.

The Lady Knights will host the No. 4 seed out of Area 7-AAAA on Wednesday in the first round, and could possibly be without starting setter Kelly Chance, who went down with a possible concussion Saturday after recording 24 assists and 10 aces. Eidson said backup setter Kasey Gravitt played stellar in relief.

Christine Petit added 21 aces for Johnson, LeJavian Ratliff added 20 kills and 15 digs, Savannah Turk had 18 kills and 11 digs and Lindsey Anderson had 17 kills and 10 digs.