Photo courtesy of Deanna Harrington
Spain Park High School's volleyball team won the Class 7A, Area 6 tournament on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023.
The postseason has arrived in high school volleyball. Area tournaments are in the rearview mirror, and super regional tournament brackets are all set for this week. The regional tournaments will take place this Wednesday through Friday to decide which teams will be competing at the state tournament next week.
Here’s a roundup of some of the local area tournaments of interest last week.
Class 7A, Area 6
Spain Park pulled off a tremendous day, winning the tournament as the No. 2 seed. The Jags defeated No. 3 seed Chelsea in straight sets before winning an epic match against top-seeded Oak Mountain. The Jags won in five sets to claim the top spot, with Oak Mountain taking the runner-up spot.
Oak Mountain received a big challenge from fourth-seeded Hewitt-Trussville in the opening round, as the Huskies won the opening set before the Eagles rallied to win the next three.
Some Oak Mountain stats from the two matches:
- Ella Pierce: 2 aces, 2.10 serve receive rating, 22 digs
- Mabrey Whitehead: 1 ace, 1.95 serve receive rating, 26 kills, +0.128 hitting percentage, 2 blocks, 2 assists, 20 digs
- Lauren Schuessler: 5 aces, 2.00 serve receive rating, 31 kills, +0.190 hitting percentage, 5 blocks, 23 assists, 37 digs
- Emma Hawkins: 1 ace, 1 kill, 50 assists, 14 digs. Hawkins surpassed 500 season assists during the area tournament, putting her at 528 for the year and 762 in her two-year Oak Mountain career.
- Ava Heath: 2 aces, 1.95 serve receive rating, 1 block, 7 assists, 28 digs
- Saiya Patel: 1 ace, 9 kills, +0.316 hitting percentage, 7 blocks, 1 assist, 5 digs
Class 7A, Area 5
Thompson was the top seed and host and took care of business. The Warriors defeated Tuscaloosa County in the opening round and beat Hoover in the tournament final.
Hoover took down Vestavia Hills in four sets in a bit of a surprise. The Bucs have had their struggles over the last few weeks, but they put it all together for the most important match of the season to this point.
Hoover stats from the two matches:
- Kayla Terrell: 7 kills
- Kendyl Mitchell: 21 kills, 16 digs
- Sydnie Broom: 6 kills
- Addison Bentley: 29 assists, 31 digs
- Olivia Guenster: 26 digs
- Sydney Durban: 48 digs
Class 6A, Area 8
At Pelham, the Panthers won all six sets to win the area tournament title. Pelham eliminated John Carroll in the opening round, before knocking off Briarwood in the final.
Briarwood was able to defeat Helena yet again to secure a regional berth for the second straight year.
Class 6A, Area 9
Homewood walked through the area tournament with no issues, blowing past Jackson-Olin and Parker in straight sets to win the tourney.
Class 6A, Area 10
Mountain Brook had a straightforward path through its area tournament, sweeping Woodlawn and Shades Valley to claim the tournament title.
Regional tournaments
Briarwood will be in Montgomery competing in the Class 6A South Super Regional tournament. The Lions get a tough draw in the opening round Wednesday, as they will take on a strong Northridge team at 2 p.m. at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex. The Lions fell in five sets in this round last year. If they win, they would have to win another match at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday to lock up a state tournament berth.
Mountain Brook and Homewood have manageable paths to the state tournament in the 6A North Super Regional tournament, which will be played at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville.
Mountain Brook faces Pinson Valley at 2 p.m. Wednesday, followed by the winner between Hartselle and Buckhorn at 6:30 p.m. Homewood takes on Huffman and potentially Fort Payne or Athens at the same times.
With two wins, the teams would secure a state tournament berth and return Thursday to play for state seeding.
In 7A, teams only need one win at regionals to gain a state tournament berth. Spain Park played James Clemens and Hoover takes on Huntsville at 11:30 a.m. Thursday. Oak Mountain has the toughest draw of the local teams, playing top-ranked Bob Jones at 12:45 p.m.
With a win, teams would come back Friday at 10 a.m. to compete for state seeding.
