Patriots volleyball postseason bound

BIRMINGHAM -- Krimson White saw her Homewood High School volleyball team bounce back on Monday night.

The Patriots bounced back, as she said, to defeat Shades Valley and to hang tight in a loss to Ramsay in the Class 6A, Area 10 tournament at Ramsay High School.

“We have heart and we have fight,” White said. “That’s what I’ve been preaching since day one.”

Homewood defeated Shades Valley, 3-1 (25-13, 25-20, 19-25, 25-22), behind a strong start and a resilient finish, to seal its spot in the North Super Regional, to be played later this week.

A tight first set was blown open, as the Patriots pulled away for the 25-13 win. The Patriots started the second set on a 9-0 run, and even as Shades Valley rallied, Homewood still managed the 25-20 victory.

But in the third set, White suggested her team got complacent and slipped up. Even as a pair of kills from Alejandra Loo and Kassidy Schnoer allowed Homewood to claim a 16-14 edge, Shades Valley won 11 of the final 14 points to win the set 25-19.

“We won two games, we weren’t necessarily humble, we were kind of deflated in the third game, and they went up on us and took it away,” White said.

In a tight fourth set, Homewood dug deep and came up with enough plays to seal the set, 25-22, the match, 3-1, and the super regional berth.

Ramsay swept Parker, 3-0, to advance to the final opposite of Homewood. Ramsay proved a tough match, and defeated Homewood 3-0 (25-14, 25-23, 25-19). The Patriots showed grit, though, especially in the second set, as the two teams fought through several extended rallies.

“Whether the scoreboard showed it or not, tonight was a W for us,” she said. “We showed improvement blocking, we showed improvement with aggressiveness, and we came out and weren’t scared to play.”

Homewood’s season now rests at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, where the Patriots will play Oxford at 9 a.m. Thursday. Two wins will be required on Thursday to qualify for the state tournament.

White said, “From here on out, we’ve got to minimize our errors and just worry about staying relaxed and playing our game.”

The loss in the championship match did nothing to dampen White’s spirits after the game, as her Patriots team is postseason bound in her first year as head coach.

“I’m happy,” she said.