Photo by Erin Nelson.
Hoover at Chelsea Volleyball
Hoover’s Aly Durban (4) passes the ball in a match between the Chelsea Hornets and Hoover Buccaneers held at Chelsea High School on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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. For previous weekly updates, click here.
FOOTBALL
Both Hoover and Spain Park earned victories on the gridiron last Friday. Hoover rolled to a 62-0 victory over Bessemer City, as the Bucs improved to 2-0 on the young season. Spain Park had to work a little harder, as the Jags recovered from a 14-0 halftime deficit and scored a late touchdown to beat Briarwood 21-14.
This Friday, both squads begin play in Class 7A, Region 3. Hoover heads to Vestavia Hills, while Spain Park hosts Hewitt-Trussville.
VOLLEYBALL
Both the Hoover and Spain Park volleyball teams continued their strong play last week. Hoover now sits at 14-1 overall. On Thursday, the Bucs swept a tri-match with Helena and Chelsea and went on to win the Tournament of Champions at Guntersville on Saturday. During the tournament, they beat Fort Payne, Cullman, Homewood, Mountain Brook and Brentwood (Tenn.). Here are some stats from the tournament:
- Aly Durban: 125 assists, five aces, 13 digs.
- Eva Guenster: 36 digs.
- Sydney Melton: 41 digs.
- Gabrielle Essix: .571 hitting percentage, 48 kills, nine blocks.
- Rya McKinnon: 40 kills, 20 digs, .382 hitting percentage.
This week, Hoover hosts Vestavia Hills on Tuesday in an area matchup before playing a tri-match with Bob Jones and Austin on Thursday.
Spain Park is now 9-2 on the season after last week. The Jags beat Gadsden City in an area matchup on Tuesday before going 3-1 in the Tournament of Champions at Guntersville on Saturday. In the tournament, Spain Park beat Donoho, Brewer and Spanish Fort and lost to McGill-Toolen. Here are some stats from the week:
- Audrey Rothman: 37 kills, 31 assists, 11 digs, nine aces, .544 hitting percentage (in tournament play).
- Emily Breazeale: 38 kills, five blocks.
- Paige Ingersoll: 17 kills, 16 digs, seven aces.
- Lilly Johnson: 52 assists, 10 digs, four aces.
- Katelyn Walsh: 23 digs, nine aces.
This week, the Jags travel to Mountain Brook on Thursday.
CROSS-COUNTRY
The Hoover cross-country team began its season on Saturday at the Waffle House/Yellow Jacket Invitational at Oxford. The Hoover girls finished third and the boys finished second. Lauren Wallace led the girls with a second-place finish, with Abigail Batchelor (16th), Ashley Giroud (18th), Alyssa Halcomb (25th) and Anna Caroline Knight (28th) the top finishers. Kyle Epperson was the top boys finisher in seventh place, with Matthew Harden (ninth), Owen Marquardt (12th), Elijah Joseph (13th) and Sam Kilgore (14th) following in line. Emily Knerr won the junior varsity girls race and Brody Church won the JV boys race.
— What else would you like to see mentioned? For any suggestions, feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnespublishing.com.
