Photo by Erin Nelson.
Homewood’s Ellis McCool (11) hits the ball at the net in a match against Chelsea at Homewood High School on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. Photo by Erin Nelson.
Teams are really starting to separate themselves when it comes to the high school volleyball season. The contenders are becoming obvious, the down-and-out teams are unfortunately showing they are just that, and the teams on the fringe are scratching and clawing to make some noise as area play winds down.
Last week, Mountain Brook cemented its status as a contender in Class 6A, rolling through the competitive HeffStrong Tournament and finishing it off with a championship. The Spartans defeated Bob Jones, previously unbeaten to this point in the season, to finish off an outstanding weekend.
During the week, Mountain Brook knocked off Athens. At the tournament, the Spartans picked up wins over Clay-Chalkville, Shades Valley, Muscle Shoals, Metairie Park, Houston, Huntsville, Montgomery Academy and Bob Jones. The Spartans now boast an impressive 26-4 record.
Top players from the week:
- Annie Lacey: 56 kills, 14 digs, 9 blocks
- Mae Mae Beatty: 51 kills, 9 aces, 7 assists, 39 digs
- Alice Garzon: 42 kills, 3 aces, 7 blocks, 2 assists, 12 digs
- Hannah Parant: 15 aces, 40 kills, 4 blocks, 160 assists, 43 digs
- Ella Kate Wright: 8 aces, 3 kills, 24 assists, 92 digs
Head coach Mattie Gardner also passed 100 career wins with the Spartans.
Hoover had a solid week and now has a 21-14 record. On Thursday, the Bucs beat Orange Beach in straight sets, 25-12, 25-21, 28-26. Kendyl Mitchell and Addison Bentley had double-doubles for the Bucs, with Mitchell at 13 kills and 10 digs and Bentley at 20 assists and 11 digs. Sydney Durban had an outstanding night with 22 digs and a 2.5 serve receive average.
The Bucs also played in the HeffStrong Tournament over the weekend. Some stat leaders from that:
- Sydnie Broom: 18 blocks, 10 kills
- Sydney Durban: 114 Digs, 21 assists
- Madi Lopez: 69 assists
- Addison Bentley: 67 assists
Hoover plays pivotal area matches against Thompson and Tuscaloosa County this week.
Vestavia Hills split a pair of area matches last week, defeating Tuscaloosa County and falling to Thompson to finish area play with a 2-1 record.
For the week, Mille Burgess had 42 kills, Jordan Madsen had 21 kills and Lauren Marron had 17 kills and 22 digs. Audrey Vielguth led the defense with 42 digs. The Rebels are now 18-10 on the year.
Homewood was back in action last week, playing several matches and playing in the HeffStrong Tournament. The Patriots defeated Jackson-Olin, Faith Christian, Indian Springs and Northridge. They fell to Mountain Brook, Hazel Green, Spanish Fort and Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa.
Ellis McCool led the Patriots with 20 aces, 18 digs, 14 kills and 6 blocks. Mira McCool added 46 kills, 35 digs, 7 aces and 4 blocks. Kamryn Coleman tallied 78 assists, 29 digs, 7 aces and 6 kills. The Patriots are now 9-16.
In Class 7A, Area 6, Chelsea is now 13-12 after last week. The Hornets defeated Ramsay and John Carroll, but dropped matches to Spain Park, Oak Mountain, Sparkman, Bayside Academy and Buckhorn.
Lauren Buchanan led the way with 11 aces, 67 kills, 5 blocks and 26 digs. Cara Belcher had 10 aces, 15 kills, 51 assists and 33 digs. Kaleigh Hall added 29 kills and 7 blocks. MK Dojonovic went for 10 aces, 5 kills 71 assists and 25 digs.
Spain Park is now 12-12 after a solid week. The Jags beat Chelsea, Hewitt-Trussville, Northridge, St. Paul’s and White Plains between regular season and HeffStrong action. They lost to Huntsville and Spanish Fort.
Megan Ingersoll, just a sophomore, surpassed 500 career kills, posting 70 for the week. She also had 17 digs, 9 aces and 7 blocks. Reagan Gilbert added 51 kills, 11 aces, 10 digs and 6 blocks. Cailyn Kyes had 161 assists and 5 aces. Alexa Benda posted 31 kills and 7 blocks.
The team leading the area, Oak Mountain, knocked off John Carroll and Chelsea last week to improve to 18-9. It was a week of milestones for the Eagles.
Mabrey Whitehead got to the 500-kill threshold as well for her career, finishing the week with 22 kills, 8 aces, a .288 hitting percentage, 3 blocks and 14 digs.
Lauren Schuessler also notched 500 career kills. For the week, she added a pair of aces, a 2.00 passing average, 16 kills, .277 hitting percentage, 2 blocks, 15 assists.
Emma Hawkins got to 500 career assists, posting 42 of them for the week to go along with 3 aces and 15 digs. Saiya Patel also had 5 aces, 9 kills, a .571 hitting percentage, 5 blocks and 6 digs.
Briarwood had an impressive week, beginning with a sweep of Hoover and Ramsay on Tuesday in a home tri-match. The Lions also knocked off Gardendale on Thursday. At the HeffStrong Tournament, the Lions beat Siegel (Tenn.), Baldwin County, Guntersville and Orange Beach. Their only losses were to Thompson and Montgomery Academy.
Caroline Jones went for 83 digs and 14 aces on the week, reaching 1,000 career digs in the process.
Colleen Lehane posted 95 assists, 38 digs and 16 aces for the week. Sophomore Clara Crawford had 36 kills, 13 blocks, 14 digs and 7 aces.
Key matches this week:
- Homewood vs. Spain Park/Helena on Tuesday
- Briarwood vs. Pelham on Tuesday
- Oak Mountain at Vestavia Hills on Tuesday
- Hoover at Thompson on Wednesday
- Briarwood at John Carroll on Thursday
- Oak Mountain at Spain Park on Thursday
- Vestavia Hills at Homewood on Thursday
