High school sports recap: Bucs football gains non-region win

Here's a look back at the last week in Hoover and Spain Park high school sports.

FOOTBALL

The Hoover football team traveled to Mountain Brook last Friday and won a tough non-region game. Click here for the story of the game.

This Friday, the Bucs head to Oak Mountain as they resume region play. Spain Park took an open date last week, and hosts Tuscaloosa County this Friday.

VOLLEYBALL

The Hoover volleyball team earned a 3-0 win over Northridge last Tuesday. Maggie Harris posted a double-double with 31 assists and 10 digs. Peyton David and Bella Guenster were dig leaders for the Bucs, with 17 and 16 in the match, respectively. Kenzie Richards had 5 blocks as well.

Offensively, Kendyl Mitchell led the way with 10 kills. Alanah Pooler finished with 7 kills, and Raegan James, Adair Byars and Richards each contributing 6 kills.

Hoover celebrated senior night Thursday with a 3-0 win over Grissom (25-17, 25-16, 25-13). Elise Hart and James were the stars offensively, as Hart had 10 kills at a .714 hitting percentage and James tallied a season-high 18 kills while hitting over .500. Harris had 7 aces and 39 assists in support of the offense as well.

Guenster was the dig leader defensively with 16 digs, with James and David each registering 10 digs.

The Bucs played in the HeffStrong Tournament over the weekend, going 4-2 overall. They finished second in their pool, beating James Clemens, Guntersville and Houston (Tenn.) but falling to Collierville (Tenn.). Hoover swept Bob Jones in the first round but then fell to Enterprise to end the tournament.

Harris had an outstanding weekend, totaling 99 assists, 21 kills, 28 digs and 6 aces. David led Hoover’s defense with 61 digs, while Guenster had 44 and Sydney Durban contributed 43. Four Hoover hitters reached 20 kills, led by Mitchell with 28. James had 26, Richards finished with 22 and Byars finished with 20.

Hoover is now 21-13 and hosts Thompson on Tuesday at home in an area match. The Bucs also travel to Tuscaloosa County on Thursday, then play in the Battle of Old Shell Road in Mobile over the weekend.

Spain Park played an area match and hosted the HeffStrong Tournament last week. On Tuesday, the Jags swept Chelsea 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-22) to earn an area win.

On Friday, Spain Park began the tournament with strong wins over Providence Christian (25-18, 25-17) and Ohatchee (25-16, 25-15). The Jags struggled on Saturday against stout competition, falling to Trinity Presbyterian (19-25, 25-22, 15-5) and McGill-Toolen (25-17, 25-15). 

For the week, Haley Thompson led the team with 9 aces, Emily Breazeale led the team with 50 kills and 70 assists and Brooklyn Allison finished with 53 digs. Megan Ingersoll finished with 25 kills and Nora Dawson had 20. Allison added 56 assists, and Lilly Johnson and Ashley Fowler each chipped in 18 digs.

This week, Spain Park hosts Hewitt-Trussville on Tuesday and plays at Vestavia Hills on Thursday.

CROSS-COUNTRY

The Spain Park cross-country team hosted the Under the Lights meet at Veterans Park last Friday. The girls team was particularly impressive, as Delaney Vickers won the event by running her 5k in 20:28. Remy Richards, Chloe Finocchiaro were fourth and fifth, while Mackenzie Colbaugh and Gianna Thornton crossed the line seventh and eighth.

For the boys, Kenneth Bishop led the way with a second-place finish, running his race in 17:04. JT Brownlee, Zane McPeters, Webb Harper and Eian Phillips crossed the line consecutively fourth through seventh. Weston Higginbotham and Keith Warner were ninth and 10th.

Hoover’s cross-country team traveled to Scottsboro for the Black & Gold Classic last Saturday. The boys team stood out, with four guys finishing in the top 10. Elijah Joseph led the charge, finishing second with a time of 15:27. Zander Dakis was sixth, Cannon Peters seventh and Matthew Harden crossed the line 10th.

On the girls side, Catherine Wallace (20th), Lila Hunter (23rd) and Lana Kate Hammonds (25th) led the team.

Want to see something else mentioned? Feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnesmedia.com.