The Reset: Bucs volleyball reaches finals of Blalock tournament

Over the course of the year, the Hoover Sun will keep you up to date on the various Hoover and Spain Park high school athletic teams. Here is the fifth installment. If you missed last week's edition, click here.

FOOTBALL

The Hoover High School football team remained unbeaten in Class 7A, Region 3 play with a 38-6 victory over Huffman on Friday night. Click here for a full recap of the game.

Spain Park was unable to keep up with Thompson, as the Warriors ran away with a 40-17 win over the Jags, who are now in a tie with Vestavia Hills for the fourth and final playoff spot in Region 3. Click here for a full recap of the game.

Hoover travels to longtime rival Vestavia Hills this week, while Spain Park heads to Tuscaloosa County.

VOLLEYBALL

The Hoover High School volleyball team racked up wins last week, posting a 7-1 mark that included a pair of mid-week wins and a run to the finals of the Margaret Blalock Tournament at Homewood.

The Bucs knocked off Mountain Brook on Tuesday, 3-1 (25-13, 21-25, 25-14, 25-21), and Spain Park on Thursday, 3-1 (25-18, 17-25, 25-16, 25-23).

In pool play of the Blalock Tournament, the Bucs swept Paul Bryant, Alexandria and McGill-Toolen. Bracket play proved much more challenging, but Hoover navigated through Mountain Brook and Bayside Academy before running into McGill-Toolen again in the finals. The Dirty Dozen bested Hoover the second time around, 2-1 (22-25, 25-22, 12-15).

Hoover hosts Tuscaloosa County (Tuesday) and James Clemens (Thursday) this week to round out the regular season.

Spain Park split its two matches last week. On Tuesday night, the Jags celebrated seniors Marlee Johnson and Caroline Horton and won 3-0 (25-8, 25-11, 25-15). On Thursday, they lost at Hoover.

The Jags play a pair of tough road matches this week, as they face Oak Mountain Tuesday and Vestavia Hills Thursday.

CROSS-COUNTRY

Hoover High cross-country swept the team titles on Thursday at the Crimson Classic in Tuscaloosa. The Buccaneer girls stayed undefeated on the season by beating Fort Payne, 44-66. It was their fifth consecutive victory.

Seniors Ava Weems, Caroline Sall and Sydney Steely led a pack of six Hoover runners who finished in the top 15. Weems placed third in 19:57, Sall placed sixth in 20:38, and Steely placed eighth in 20:40.

Meanwhile, the Buccaneer boys bested Florence, 45-130. Like the girls, they placed six runners in the top 15. Drew Kilgore (third, 17:22), John McCrackin (fifth, 17:31) and Alex Leary (10th, 17:42) paved the way.

Bolstered by a pair of individual victories, Hoover also swept the junior varsity team titles. Hannah Pope won the girls race in 23:19, and Christian Pegouske won the boys race in 18:35.

Spain Park competed at the Crimson Classic, too.

The boys placed third and the girls placed fifth in the varsity team standings. Notably, Berry Middle School eighth-grader MacKenzie Culpepper notched a strong performance for the Spain Park girls, finishing ninth in 20:54.

The Jags returned to action two days later at the Dew it on the Trails Invitational in Decatur, where the boys finished fourth and the girls finished fifth.

Jacob Warner (eighth, 16:17), Cole Dillard (17th, 16:38) and Charlie Trower (20th, 16:42) all placed in the top 20. Sophomore Holland Lidikay (14th, 20:07) led the Spain Park girls.

The Buccaneers and Jags will both compete at Thursday’s Hoover Invitational, which will be hosted at Veterans Park.

NOTABLE ALUMNI

Auburn freshman Tommy McDonough, a Hoover alum, ran 26:37 for 8K on Friday at the Crimson Classic in Tuscaloosa. His former Hoover teammate John Paul Rumore, a South Alabama freshman, crossed the finish line in 27:52. Rumore’s current South Alabama teammate, Shades Mountain Christian (now Heritage Academy) alum Dylan Pausic, ran 26:58.

Auburn sophomore Presley Weems, a Hoover alum, recorded a 6K time of 22:44 at the Crimson Classic, while Alabama freshman Isabel Caddo, a Spain Park alum, ran 24:42. Caddo’s former Jaguar teammate and current South Carolina sophomore Sarah-Sims McGrath ran 23:03.

Spain Park alum Simone Charley, a redshirt senior at Vanderbilt, continues to lead the Commodores’ soccer team in points. She has tallied three goals and five assists on the season. Vanderbilt is 9-5-1 overall and 4-2-1 in SEC play.

Arkansas State freshman Larry Wooden totaled three tackles in the Red Wolves’ 51-17 victory over Coastal Carolina on Saturday. Wooden played running back at Spain Park, but he has since converted to defensive back. Cincinnati sophomore Perry Young, Wooden’s former Spain Park teammate, made seven tackles, including one for loss, in the Bearcats’ 33-3 loss to South Florida on Saturday.

Spain Park alumnus and current UAB golfer Nick Robillard competed at the 2017 Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate last week, posting a three-round score of 220 (+10).

-- Who did we miss? What else would you like to see mentioned? For any suggestions, feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnespublishing.com.