Rebels punch ticket to super regionals
HOOVER — Each time it broke its huddle on Tuesday night during the Class 7A, Area 5 final at Hoover, the Vestavia Hills High School volleyball team shouted one word: teamwork.
It almost won it the match.
The Rebels received contributions from nearly every player who touched the floor, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the tournament host Bucs. Hoover stormed back from a two-set deficit to capture a 3-2 (22-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-17, 15-9) victory and the area title.
“Our goal is to be what would you want to define as a team,” Vestavia Hills head coach Mandy Burgess said. “I feel like our girls are 110 percent in it for each other. That’s what makes them such an awesome group to coach, and I’m really, really proud of them.”
Vestavia Hills had won only one set total during the teams’ previous two meetings. Hoover beat Vestavia Hills 3-0 and 3-1 earlier in the season.
Nevertheless, the Rebels still secured their spot at the 7A North Super Regional, which will be held Friday and Saturday at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville. They punched their ticket to the next round on Tuesday afternoon by knocking off Thompson, 3-1 (25-22, 25-9, 22-25, 25-17), in the area semifinal.
“We get to live to see another day, and there are a lot of teams that are staying home tonight that don’t get that opportunity,” Burgess said. “We view it as another opportunity.”
Hannah Vines and Anna Langley helped put the semifinal match away in the decisive fourth set. Their timely kills enabled Vestavia Hills to avoid deja vu, as its past two matchups with Thompson saw the eventual winner charge back from a 2-0 hole.
It couldn't dodge the same fate against Hoover despite a promising start.
Behind strong performances from a cast of players, including Vines, Langley, Ainsley Schultz, Holly McDaniel, Annabelle Bridges and Maggie Gann, the Rebels seized a two-set lead.
Schultz recorded a number of key kills in the second set. She also teamed up with McDaniel to slow down Hoover outside hitter Paige Shaw, a Memphis commit with a powerful swing.
But Hoover jolted to life with its back against the wall, taking the final three sets. Shaw found her rhythm and finished with 30 kills.
“We wish we would have finished differently considering we really started off super strong in those first two sets against Hoover,” Burgess said. “But we came in and played well against a good Thompson team and did what we needed to.”
The Rebels will return to action on Friday when they face Area 8 champion Bob Jones at 9 a.m. A win guarantees them a spot at the state tournament, which begins Nov. 1.