Photo by Erin Nelson.
Vestavia’s Ainsley Schultz (20) sets the ball during a match between Vestavia Hills and Spain Park held at Spain Park High School in Hoover on Sept. 17.
The Vestavia Hills High School volleyball team battled through a tough 2019 schedule with an emphasis on daily improvement under head coach Mandy Burgess.
Playing a high level of competition consistently doesn’t often yield itself to long winning streaks, but it does bring to light the strengths and weaknesses of a team. That led to the Rebels posting a 17-21 overall record, but they capped off the season in an impressive fashion.
In the final weeks of the season, the Rebels pulled off a win over Spain Park in five sets and nearly knocked off eventual Class 5A state champion Jasper in five sets.
Vestavia Hills entered the 7A, Area 6 tournament as the No. 3 seed, pitting it in a semifinal matchup with No. 2 seed Spain Park. The teams split a pair of regular season area matches, but the Rebels managed to pull off the upset of the Jags (17-25, 25-22, 26-24, 25-20).
In the final of the area tournament, the Rebels fell to Mountain Brook (16-25, 15-25, 14-25), but finishing in the top two of the tournament qualified them for the super regional tournament for the third time in the last four years.
On Oct. 25, Vestavia Hills played in the 7A North Super Regional at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville. There, the Rebels fell to Bob Jones in four sets (25-19, 16-25, 20-25, 16-25).
Vestavia Hills graduates six seniors in Ainsley Schultz (who will play at West Georgia), Maggie Gann, Madison Smith (Penn State Abington), Hayden Garris, Sarah Beth Harris and Anna Wood.
