Photo by Erin Nelson.
Homewood’s Mira McCool (13) hits the ball at the net in a match against Chelsea at Homewood High School on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. Photo by Erin Nelson.
Many high school volleyball teams took last weekend off, following a grueling opening weekend at the Juanita Boddie Tournament. But there was still plenty of action during the week, and here’s a look at what transpired.
Mountain Brook took down a pair of local foes last week, beating Hoover on Tuesday and Vestavia Hills on Thursday. Over the weekend, the Spartans went to Mobile and faced off against three of the strongest teams in the state. Mountain Brook defeated reigning Class 7A champion McGill-Toolen, but lost to 7A runner-up Bob Jones and 6A champion Bayside Academy.
For the week, Hannah Parant registered 136 assists in the offense, also adding 11 aces, 24 kills, 8 blocks and 38 digs. Mae Mae Beatty had a strong week, with 30 kills, 44 digs, 4 assists, 3 blocks and 2 aces. Annie Lacey was strong with 42 kills, 8 blocks and 9 digs. The Spartans have a 10-3 record.
Hoover split a pair of matches last week, falling to Mountain Brook on Tuesday and beating Homewood on Thursday. The Bucs are now 8-4 on the year.
Hoover posted some impressive numbers in the four-set win over Homewood. Kendyl Mitchell had an impressive double-double with a career high 20 kills. She added 18 digs and hit for a .429 percentage, while passing at a 2.2. Addison Bentley also had a double-double, going for 14 assists, 13 digs and 3 aces. Olivia Guenster passed at a 2.7 in serve receive and posted 23 digs. Madi Lopez finished with 21 assists, 2 kills, 3 digs and an ace.
Vestavia Hills is now 6-5 after a challenging midweek slate. The Rebels split a tri-match Tuesday, losing to Northridge 2-0 and beating Helena 2-0. Vestavia fell to Mountain Brook 3-0 on Thursday.
Audrey Vielguth reached 1,000 digs for her career in the Mountain Brook match and finished with 40 digs on the week. Millie Burgess led the offense with 24 kills and a .259 hitting percentage.
Spain Park improved to 4-3 on the season following a senior night victory over Shades Valley. In the win, Megan Ingersoll led the offense with 12 kills, adding 14 digs and 3 aces. Cailyn Kyes ran the offense, posting 25 assists to go along with 3 digs and 3 aces. Grace Devlin posted 14 digs as well, while Alexa Benda had 7 kills and Reagan Gilbert went for a double-double of 10 aces and 10 digs.
Chelsea (5-3) took down a couple of local teams last week, beating Homewood and Briarwood. For the week, Lauren Buchanan led the way with 36 kills, 20 digs, 3 blocks and 5 aces. She also hit for a .415 percentage against Homewood. Cara Belcher had 39 assists, 8 aces, 4 kills and 2 blocks as well. Alexis Rudolph went for 13 aces, 16 kills, 11 digs and 5 blocks for the week, while hitting .353 against Briarwood.
Oak Mountain got its record back to 5-4 with a pair of wins last week, as the Eagles defeated Tuscaloosa County and 7A, Area 6 opponent Hewitt-Trussville. For the week, Lauren Schuessler had a strong all-around performance, tallying 28 kills, 23 assists and 26 digs. She hit for a .333 percentage, passed for a 2.14 average and also added 8 aces and a pair of blocks. Ava Heath had 18 kills, 24 digs, 9 assists, 5 aces, a block and hit .185. Aubrie Lay had 10 kills — hitting for a .450 percentage — to go along with 3 blocks and an ace.
Briarwood went 1-2 last week, beating Montgomery Academy and dropping a couple matches to strong 7A teams Thompson and Chelsea. For the week, Stella Helms was a strong all-around player with 24 kills, 27 digs and 6 aces for the Lions. Caroline Jones steadied the defense with 37 digs and a pair of aces. Colleen Lehane finished with 21 assists, 16 digs and 2 aces.
Homewood dropped a couple of matches last week to 7A foes Chelsea and Hoover. Both matches went four sets. The match against Chelsea was an in-school affair, with students packing the gym and the Homewood band adding to the environment. Kam Coleman led the Patriots for the week with 56 assists, 29 digs and 8 aces. Libero Emerson Buck added 29 digs and 4 aces. Outside hitter Abby Przybysz totaled 24 kills, 12 digs and an ace. The Patriots are now 4-4 on the season.
John Carroll split a pair of matches last week. The Cavs swept Leeds 3-0 on Tuesday, but fell to Helena 3-0 on Thursday in an area match. For the week, Marion Haskell posted 14 kills and 3 blocks. Meredith Davis led the defense with 21 digs.
Highlighting the schedule this week:
- Homewood at Oak Mountain on Tuesday
- Spain Park at Thompson on Tuesday
- Vestavia Hills vs. Auburn on Wednesday
- Vestavia Hills at Briarwood on Thursday
- Chelsea at Oak Mountain on Thursday
