Photo by Erin Nelson.
Vestavia Hills’ Ava Scott Windham (7) hits the ball over the net in a match against Northridge at Braasch-Hatchett Court on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. Photo by Erin Nelson.
The biggest days of the season have finally arrived, with high school volleyball area tournaments all set to be played this week.
That means the regular season has concluded, so here’s a brief rundown of what went on over the final week (plus a few days).
Mountain Brook’s only action of the week came in the Margaret Blalock Tournament at Homewood, where the Spartans finished as the runner-up. The Spartans notched wins over Alabama Christian, Hewitt-Trussville, Alexandria, Helena and Bayside Academy. McGill-Toolen knocked them off in the championship match.
Stat leaders from the weekend:
- Alice Garzon: 28 kills, 4 aces, 8 blocks, 5 assists
- Hannah Parant: 22 kills, 14 aces, 4 blocks, 80 assists
- Mae Mae Beatty: 25 kills, 2 aces, 3 assists, 29 digs
- Ella Kate Wright: 6 aces, 12 assists, 38 digs
- Annie Lacey: 19 kills, 6 blocks
Vestavia Hills (26-12) was sufficiently challenged in its final week. The Rebels knocked off Chelsea on Wednesday before playing in the Blalock Tournament over the weekend. In the tournament, the Rebels defeated Homewood and McAdory and lost to Bayside Academy in pool play. In gold bracket action, the Rebels beat Oak Mountain before falling to McGill-Toolen in the semifinals.
Audrey Vielguth led the Rebels with 16 aces and 78 digs on the week. Jill Davis led the surging defense with 13 blocks. Millie Burgess and Jordan Madsen had 64 and 35 kills, respectively.
Hoover struggled in its final regular season week. The Bucs fell to Oak Mountain in four sets on Tuesday. In the match, Olivia Guenster had a strong performance with 4 aces, 7 kills, 14 digs and a 2.5 serve receive rating. Sydney Durban led the defense with 27 digs.
The Bucs lost both ends of a tri-match in three sets Wednesday, losing 2-1 to Daphne and St. Paul’s. They finished the regular season by playing in the Shrimp Fest tournament over the weekend.
Oak Mountain (23-15) capped off the regular season with a busy week as well. The Eagles beat Hoover on Tuesday and played in the Blalock over the weekend. In tournament play, Oak Mountain notched wins over Hartselle, Ramsay and Montgomery Catholic, only falling to Briarwood and Vestavia Hills.
Lauren Schuessler put together a week with 17 aces, a 2.13 serve receive rating, 51 kills, a .214 hitting percentage, 8 blocks, 72 assists and 79 digs. Mabrey Whitehead posted 12 aces, a 1.95 serve receive rating, 57 kills, a .225 hitting percentage, 2 blocks, 3 assists and 48 digs.
Caroline Whitehurst led the Eagles with a 3.0 serve receive, Ally Ross had a .667 hitting percentage, Saiya Patel had 14 blocks and Emma Hawkins had 79 assists for the week.
Chelsea (19-20) fell to Homewood and Vestavia Hills in regular season play before playing in the Blalock. The Hornets beat ACA and Sparkman in the tournament, with losses to Briarwood, McGill-Toolen and Helena.
Lauren Buchanan had a strong week, going for 105 kills, 7 blocks, 7 assists, 43 digs and 12 aces. Cara Belcher finished with 6 aces, 21 kills, 102 assists and 41 digs. She has surpassed 500 assists for her career. Kaleigh Hall had 32 kills, 14 blocks, 2 assists and 5 digs.
Briarwood took the silver bracket championship at the Blalock, defeating Oak Mountain, Ramsay, Hartselle (twice) and Chelsea to earn the trophy.
Briarwood and Chelsea finished out the regular season this Monday, with Chelsea earning a win on senior night for MK Dojonovic and Mara Paulk.
Homewood (15-22) knocked off Chelsea on Tuesday before hosting the Blalock. In the tournament, the Patriots defeated McAdory but fell to Vestavia Hills, Bayside Academy and Hartselle.
Kamryn Coleman led the Patriots with 65 assists, 36 digs, 7 aces, 7 kills and 4 blocks. Mira McCool paced the offense with 28 kills and added 16 digs, 6 blocks and 3 aces. Emerson Buck led the defense with 43 digs.
John Carroll split a pair of matches last week, falling to Briarwood but defeating Mortimer Jordan on senior night.
For the week, Marion Haskell posted 22 kills. Mady Kirkpatrick had 18 kills and 8 aces. Kaitlin Gilchrist finished with 9 kills and 7 aces. Meredith Davis, who was named Homecoming Queen at the football game, had 15 digs and 3 aces.
Area tournaments will commence this week, with the top two finishers in each tournament advancing to the regional tournaments next week.
Area tournaments this week:
- Class 6A, Area 8 at Pelham on Wednesday (Briarwood and John Carroll)
- Class 6A, Area 9 at Homewood on Wednesday (Homewood)
- Class 6A, Area 10 at Mountain Brook on Wednesday (Mountain Brook)
- Class 7A, Area 5 at Thompson on Thursday (Hoover and Vestavia Hills)
- Class 7A, Area 6 at Oak Mountain on Thursday (Chelsea, Oak Mountain and Spain Park)
