Photo by Erin Nelson.
Hoover’s Maggie Harris (11) reacts as the Lady Bucs come together after a point in an area match against Thompson at Hoover High School on Monday, Sept. 27, 2022. Photo by Erin Nelson.
Here's a look back at the last week in Hoover and Spain Park high school sports.
FOOTBALL
The Hoover football team was dominant last week in its shutout win over Oak Mountain. Click here for the story of that game.
Spain Park fell to Tuscaloosa County in a tough region game. Here is the recap of the contest.
This week, Hoover hosts Tuscaloosa County in a top 10 region matchup, while Spain Park travels to Chelsea looking for its first region win.
VOLLEYBALL
The Hoover volleyball team posted an impressive 3-0 win (25-21, 25-18, 25-21) over area foe Thompson last Tuesday night. The Bucs put up a strong defensive effort, led by Bella Guenster’s 14 digs. Reese Hawks had 3 blocks as well. Kendyl Mitchell led the offense with 9 kills, followed by 7 from Maggie Harris.
Hoover finished off area play on Wednesday with a sweep of Tuscaloosa County, winning all three sets (25-13, 27-25, 25-9). Harris posted a double-double with 35 assists and 12 digs in the match. She also posted 5 kills and 2 aces in an all-around strong performance. Hawks had a great serving night, going for 4 aces. Mitchell and Raegan James led a balanced offensive effort for the Bucs, as each notched 8 kills. Kenzie Richards finished with 7 kills, while Adair Byars added 5.
On Saturday, Hoover went to Mobile for the Battle of Old Shell Road, hosted by St. Paul's and UMS-Wright. The Bucs started pool play by sweeping both Prattville Christian and Bayshore in two clean matches. In their final pool play match, the Bucs faced Spanish Fort and lost in a close tiebreaker. Mobile Christian was the first elimination game of tournament, and Hoover came out on top in another competitive tiebreaker. This victory led the Bucs to face Bowling Green, where they fell short in two close games.
Harris had an impressive weekend with a .463 hitting percentage and 20 kills, 3 aces, 105 assists, 23 digs and 5 blocks. James was the kill leader for the team with 36 kills, and she also contributed 43 digs. Hawks served 8 aces, and assisted in 11 of the team's 19 blocks for the weekend.
Peyton David led the team in digs with 47, closely followed by James and Bella Guenster, who had 43 digs each.
Hoover is now 26-15 and will face Jasper on Wednesday.
Spain Park split its two matches last week. The Jags defeated Hewitt-Trussville 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-11) on Tuesday, but fell to Vestavia Hills in five sets (15-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-22, 15-13) on Thursday.
Emily Breazeale led the team with 33 kills for the week, followed by Megan Ingersoll’s 23 kills. Lilly Johnson finished with 48 assists and Haley Thompson added 26. Brooklyn Allison had a team-high 32 digs, with Breazeale finishing with 25.
Spain Park hosts Oak Mountain on Thursday and plays in Homewood’s Margaret Blalock Tournament over the weekend.
CROSS-COUNTRY
The Hoover and Spain Park cross-country teams sent several athletes to the Jesse Owens Classic over the weekend. The event is held at Oakville Indian Mounds Park, which is where the state meet will be contested next month.
The Bucs had a team of boys and girls run in the gold races. The boys were led by Elijah Joseph, who finished 35th overall in the 5k run. Zander Dakis was 37th as well. The girls were led by Lila Hunter, Ava Sparks and Lana Kate Hammonds.
Spain Park had a few strong performances as well. Delaney Vickers finished 35th in the girls race, posting a time of 19:14. Kenneth Bishop was 36th on the boys side, running in 15:54.
SWIMMING AND DIVING
The Hoover swimming and diving teams both won the Rebel Classic Swim Meet, hosted by Vestavia Hills High School, last Tuesday.
On the girls side, sophomore Lily Fu scored 15 points for the team and won the 200-yard individual medley. Sophomore Pricilla Smith scored 20 points for the team and won in the 100 back stroke and 100 breast stroke. Smith, Fu, freshman Mary-Caroline Hatch and sophomore Lila Hunter won as a relay team in the 200 medley relay.
In diving, sophomore Lucy Benoit earned second place, eighth grader Tinzley Phifer took fourth and freshman Sydney Lee placed sixth.
For the boys, team captain and senior Lukas Fu scored 28 points, winning in the 200 individual medley and 100 back stroke. Senior Victor Song also scored 28 points, winning in the 50 and 100 freestyle. Fu, Song, senior Leo Song and junior Ken Ning won as a relay team in both the 200 medley relay and the 200 freestyle relay.
The next meet will be at the Hoover Recreation Center on Oct. 18.
Want to see something else mentioned? Feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnesmedia.com.
