Photo courtesy of Hoover Volleyball
The Hoover High School volleyball team won the HeffStrong Tournament on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020, at Spain Park High School.
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
The Hoover football team took down Prattville 28-6 last Friday night in the first-ever meeting between the two schools outside of the state championship. Click here for a recap of the game.
This week, the Bucs travel to Hewitt-Trussville, while Spain Park heads to Oak Mountain after an open week.
VOLLEYBALL
The Hoover volleyball team hosted city rival Spain Park last Tuesday, with the Bucs dominating to the tune of a straight-sets victory (25-7, 25-9, 25-23). For the Bucs, Aly Durban had 47 assists with help from Rya McKinnon’s 18 kills and Gabrielle Essix’s 11 kills. Sydney Melton led the team in digs, picking up 10, with Peyton David closely following with nine.
Hoover ran through the HeffStrong Tournament at Spain Park over the weekend, dropping just one set in seven matches. On the way to the title, the Bucs toppled Guntersville (25-17, 25-9), Auburn (25-13, 25-15), John Carroll (25-12, 25-16), Northridge (25-11, 25-15), Sparkman (18-25, 25-18, 15-6), Spanish Fort (25-17, 25-14) and Hartselle (25-19, 25-21).
Melton led the Bucs in digs for the weekend with 34 and Essix led the team in blocks with nine. Eva Guenster had nine aces, McKinnon had 81 kills and Durban tallied 179 assists on the weekend. The Bucs are now 30-1 on the season. This week, the Bucs travel to Vestavia Hills and host Hazel Green.
Spain Park fell to Hoover last Tuesday and beat Gardendale on Thursday. Over the weekend, the Jags hosted the HeffStrong Tournament, winning one of their three matches. Spain Park knocked off Providence Christian (25-21, 25-16) but lost to Bob Jones (25-23, 22-25, 15-10) and Hartselle (25-21, 25-17). Here are some stats from the week:
- Audrey Rothman: 72 kills, 14 assists, seven digs.
- Emily Breazeale: 26 kills.
- Brooklyn Allison: 24 digs.
- Katelyn Walsh: 27 digs.
- Lilly Johnson: 82 assists.
This week, Spain Park hosts Hewitt-Trussville on Tuesday and plays in Jasper’s tournament on Saturday.
CROSS-COUNTRY
The Hoover and Spain Park cross-country teams competed in the Under the Lights meet at Veterans Park. Hoover swept the boys and girls events, taking home the win in both. Kyle Epperson (second), Elijah Joseph (fifth), Owen Marquardt (sixth), Matthew Harden (12th) and Zander Dakis (14th) were the top Hoover boys, while Lauren Wallace (second), Abigail Batchelor (fifth), Ashley Girouard (11th), Anna Caroline Knight (14th) and Alyssa Halcomb (21st) were the top girls.
For Spain Park, the boys finished second and the girls placed fifth. Keith Warner won the boys race, with Kenneth Bishop (fourth) and Mackenzie Culpepper (sixth) also earning top-10 finishes in their respective races.
— What else would you like to see mentioned? For any suggestions, feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnespublishing.com.
