Bucs defeat scrappy James Clemens team, advance to state
HUNTSVILLE – The Bucs are back.
The Hoover High School volleyball team is no stranger to the state tournament, and with Friday morning’s 3-1 (25-18, 25-23, 19-25, 25-18) win over James Clemens at the Von Braun Center in the Class 7A North Super Regional, that’s where it will return next week.
“We played with fire and emotion from the start of the match. I was very pleased with how we came out,” said Hoover coach Chris Camper.
Camper lauded the scrappiness of James Clemens in days and moments leading up to the contest, and after the Bucs took the first two sets, the Jets refused to go away.
The Bucs got off to a great start with a 25-18 victory in the first set, as Jamie Gregg was able to set Paige Shaw for several powerful kills.
“Early, Jamie and Paige connected as well as they have all year,” Camper said.
Hoover was heading toward another solid victory in the second set until James Clemens made things interesting at the end, closing the gap to a single point. After a Hoover timeout, the Bucs came out and finished off the set, 25-23.
But the third set belonged to James Clemens, as the Jets cruised to a 25-19 victory. In that set, Camper laid the blame on Hoover’s ball control.
“Our ball control was great early,” he said. “A little bit in that third set, it broke down and made Jamie’s job tough and that gets Paige out of system too. Our ball control picked back up in the fourth, and that was the key.”
Hoover got back on track and finished off the match with a 25-18 victory in the fourth.
However, it wasn’t just Gregg and Shaw leading the way for Hoover. While both of them have significant postseason experience, Friday proved critical experience for players that are either young or are playing much bigger roles on this year’s team.
“This environment may be even more intense than the CrossPlex (where the state tournament is held), because the fans are right up on you. It’ll help them relax as we move forward on Wednesday. It’s an opportunity for them to grow and realize you’ve just got to go play.”
Caroline Raybon, Mackenzie Martin, Rya McKinnon and Brayden Williams are just a few of the girls that came up with big plays at critical moments.
With the win, Hoover secures a berth in the state tournament, where the Bucs fell to Mountain Brook in the final last fall. But there is still work to be done at the super regional tournament, where Hoover takes on Mountain Brook at 10 a.m. Saturday. Those two, along with Oak Mountain and Bob Jones, want to avoid a first-round draw with McGill-Toolen.
“Tomorrow’s a big day for everybody,” Camper said. “There’s a monster in the south and everyone needs to do their best tomorrow.”