Eagles keep winning, secure state berth
HUNTSVILLE – The Eagles have reached their next checkpoint on the road to state.
Throughout the season, the Oak Mountain High School volleyball team has stayed on course for the most part, and its 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-15) win over Grissom in the opening round of the Class 7A North Super Regional on Friday morning allowed the Eagles to drive a little further and grab a spot in the state tournament.
“Oh my gosh, it’s huge,” said coach Tien Le after Oak Mountain’s win at the Von Braun Center. “It doesn’t matter how many times you play that match to get back to state, every one of them is exciting.”
The Eagles looked like a team with its eyes set far beyond the opening match of the super regional tournament. They were unfazed by the stakes of the elimination match and the noisy environment created by Oak Mountain students and supporters.
“You’re representing your school and your community and you have everyone drive all the way up to watch and support us. The administration was there. You can’t ask for a better environment than that,” Le said.
Oak Mountain used the magnitude of the moment to its advantage.
“It was a bit of pressure, but at the same time, I think we worked it into momentum to push ourselves,” said senior libero Keller Lovvorn. “We’re an emotional team, so we picked ourselves up by pushing that. When we have a goal, we all want to go for it.”
In the match, the Eagles held Grissom at bay for the majority of the first set and hung on for the 25-20 victory. Oak Mountain jumped out to a 16-11 lead in the second set, but Grissom roared back and threatened the Eagles. In a back-and-forth finish, Oak Mountain held on for the 26-24 win. Even if the Eagles had faltered in the second set, Le felt confident that his team could raise its level in the match.
“I felt good that, mentally, the kids were ready to do that if we needed to,” he said. Thankfully, we didn’t have to. I feel good about where we are right now.”
Oak Mountain took no prisoners in the third set, winning 16 of the final 21 points of the set to storm away with a 25-15 set win and a match win to notch its second consecutive state tournament berth.
“We reached our goal and now we have to reach the next one,” said senior Cameron Rueschenberg. “We have to take each goal one by one.”
With the win, Oak Mountain advances to the semifinals of the super regional tournament, which will conclude tomorrow. The Eagles will play Bob Jones at 10 a.m. Saturday. Friday’s win assured a state tournament berth, but seeding for the state tournament will be critical.
Lovvorn said, “We just have to keep working on ourselves and what we’re going to do and not worry what the other team’s going to do.”
Oak Mountain’s state tournament run ended quickly last year, as the Eagles fell in straight sets to McGill-Toolen. The Eagles are hoping not to have to settle for that result again.
Rueschenberg said, “We can’t be satisfied.”