Volleyball season wraps up

High school volleyball season has come to an end for the Homewood and John Carroll high school programs.

John Carroll saw its season conclude in the Class 7A, Area 6 tournament on Oct. 22. The Cavaliers advanced past the opening round of the tournament by knocking off Hewitt-Trussville in straight sets (25-21, 25-22, 25-17), before falling to eventual 7A state champion Mountain Brook (9-25, 20-25, 14-25) in the quarterfinals.

Homewood won the Class 6A, Area 10 tournament on Oct. 22 by knocking off Shades Valley (25-18, 25-16, 25-15) in a sweep. The Patriots then played in the 6A North Super Regional on Oct. 25 at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville. After a valiant comeback from two sets down, Homewood succumbed in the fifth set to Athens (23-25, 18-25, 25-14, 25-23, 13-15).

Homewood had several high points throughout the season, including winning the Hewitt-Trussville Husky Challenge tournament on Sept. 14. That day, the Patriots won six matches without dropping a set, notching victories over Woodlawn, Pleasant Valley, Gardendale, Southside-Gadsden and Brewer (twice) to take home the trophy. The Patriots also entered the regional tournament on a sixmatch winning streak, as they played some of their best volleyball toward the end of the campaign.

Homewood graduates two seniors in Gretchen Kellen and Kassidy Schnoer, both outside hitters for the Patriots in head coach Cynthia Padgett’s first year at the helm.