Photo by Erin Nelson Starnes Media
The Hoover Bucs celebrate after a play during a match between Oak Mountain and Hoover on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019, at Hoover High School. 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
Hoover
The Hoover football team rallied back from an early-deficit to beat Hewitt-Trussville 28-14 last Friday night in a Class 7A, Region 3 game. Click here to read the story of the game.
This week, the Bucs host Oak Mountain on Friday in another region contest.
Spain Park
The Spain Park football team dropped its third straight in a 49-35 defeat to Mountain Brook. Click here for a recap of the game.
This Friday, the Jags head to Hewitt-Trussville for a third straight Class 7A, Region 3 contest.
VOLLEYBALL
Hoover
The Hoover volleyball team challenged itself last week, traveling to Florida to play in a highly-competitive tournament after dispatching Class 7A, Area 5 foe Oak Mountain on Tuesday. The Bucs beat the Eagles 25-12, 25-17, 25-17 in their first area match of the campaign. Gabbi Essix led the charge with 11 kills. Rya McKinnon posted nine kills, 10 aces and nine digs. Aly Durban had 25 assists, two aces and four digs.
On Thursday, Hoover played a standalone match against Venice (Fla.) and won in four sets (15-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-18). McKinnon led the way with 14 kills and two aces, while Laurel Burkhardt added 12 kills. Durban was impressive, tallying 44 assists.
The Bucs lost all four of their matches in the Battle at the Beach, hosted by Venice. Hoover dropped matches to Lake Highland Prep (20-25, 14-25), Riverview Sarasota (15-25, 12-25), Episcopal School of Jacksonville (17-25, 13-25) and Pine Crest (25-17, 24-26, 12-15), all powerhouse teams out of Florida.
This week, Hoover hosts Jasper on Tuesday and heads to Thompson on Thursday for an area bout.
Click here to purchase photos from Hoover's match against Oak Mountain.
Spain Park
Following a week in which the Jags defeated John Carroll, fell to Mountain Brook in Class 7A, Area 6 play, and competed in the Rocky Top Classic in Sevierville, Tenn., the Spain Park volleyball team sits with a 17-11 overall record.
Spain Park split its area matches during the week, beating John Carroll in five sets and losing to Mountain Brook in three.
At the Rocky Top Classic, the Jags beat Stewart’s Creek 2-1, lost to Summit 2-0, beat Northview 2-0, and beat Tennessee High 2-0 in pool play. In bracket play, Spain Park defeated Notre Dame, Science Hill and Crescent before falling to Station Camp in the semifinals.
Some notable stats from the week:
- Paris Morris: 82 kills, 8 blocks, 3 aces
- Audrey Rothman: 60 kills, 41 digs, 9 blocks
- Lexie Fowler: 51 digs, 13 aces
- Jessica Veal: 187 assists, 7 aces
- Olivia Stark: 31 kills, 7 blocks
- Alex Wright: 32 kills, 10 blocks
- Kendall Irwin: 18 kills
This week, the Jags host Vestavia Hills on Tuesday in an area match. On Thursday, Spain Park hosts a tri-match with Montgomery Academy and Oak Mountain. Over the weekend, the Jags host the annual HeffStrong Tournament.
CROSS-COUNTRY
The Hoover and Spain Park cross-country teams participated in the Spain Park Cross Country Classic on Saturday. Hoover finished second, followed directly by Spain Park in both races. Owen Marquardt finished fourth in 17:38 to pace the Hoover boys, with Max Smith (13th) the Jags’ top finisher. On the girls side, Mackenzie Culpepper of Spain Park placed third overall with a time of 20:36. Hoover’s best finisher was Alyssa Halcomb, who finished eighth.
— What else would you like to see mentioned? For any suggestions, feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnespublishing.com.
