Photo by Erin Nelson.
Chelsea’s Lauren Buchanan (7) passes the ball in a match against Homewood at Homewood High School on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. Photo by Erin Nelson.
When one of the local cities proclaims a “Volleyball Day” the night the two public high schools face one another, it’s a good week for the sport.
The city of Hoover officially recognized Sept. 12, 2023, as Volleyball Day. Hoover and Spain Park high schools squared off that evening at Spain Park in a highly competitive match.
Hoover took the match in five sets, winning 21-25, 25-20, 24-26, 25-21, 15-6.
Prior to the match, Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato read a proclamation recognizing Hoover coach Amanda Wood and Spain Park coach Kellye Bowen, as they lead two of the top volleyball programs in Alabama. Several other dignitaries from the city were also in attendance.
As for the match itself, Kendyl Mitchell put forth an outstanding performance, finishing with 26 kills and hitting over .500. Setters Addison Bentley and Madi Lopez combined for 37 assists. The Bucs had a season-high 16 aces, with Sydney Durban contributing 6 of those. Durban and Olivia Guenster each registered 21 digs.
Hoover is now 15-10 after splitting four matches at the Border Battle tournament in Tennessee.
Durban passed at a 2.3 for the weekend and had 66 digs. Bentley registered 35 assists and 24 digs. Mitchell posted 34 digs, 18 kills and 3 blocks, while Kayla Terrell posted 18 kills.
Spain Park is now 7-10, also beating John Carroll and falling to area foe Oak Mountain during the week. For the week, Megan Ingersoll led the way with 48 kills, 17 digs and 5 aces. Reagan Gilbert contributed 33 kills, 20 digs and 16 aces. Cailyn Kyes went for 98 assists. Alexa Benda finished the week with 21 kills, 5 blocks and 4 aces.
Oak Mountain notched a pair of area wins before a tough weekend in the Battle By the Bay tournament. The Eagles knocked off Hewitt-Trussville and Spain Park during the week. Over the weekend, they dropped pool matches to St. Paul’s, Huntsville and Bayshore Christian. In silver bracket play, Oak Mountain rallied to beat D.A.R. and St. Luke’s before falling to Trinity.
For the week, Mabrey Whitehead had 21 aces, a 2.17 serve receive rating, 55 kills, a .168 hitting percentage, 59 digs and 4 assists. Lauren Schuessler posted 12 aces, 51 kills, a .220 hitting percentage, 11 blocks, 77 digs and 82 assists. Ava Heath contributed 4 aces, 58 kills, a .149 hitting percentage, 12 assists and 59 digs.
The Eagles are now 16-9.
Chelsea won two of its three matches last week, beating Tuscaloosa County and Hewitt-Trussville, with a loss to Helena. For the Hornets, Lauren Buchanan had 46 kills, 7 aces, 4 blocks and 17 digs, surpassing 500 career digs. Kaleigh Hall went for 19 kills, 4 blocks and 3 assists, while MK Dojonovic had 47 assists, 3 aces, 2 kills and 14 digs.
Vestavia Hills had a very impressive week, winning all nine matches it played to take its record over .500 at 17-9. The Rebels took care of Jasper and Hayden in a Tuesday tri-match, before knocking off Hoover in an area match Thursday.
On Saturday, the Rebels traveled to Hartselle for the Eddie Preuitt Invitational and won, prevailing in all six matches. For the day, they defeated Southside, Madison Academy, Columbia, Sparkman, Hartselle and Loretto.
Millie Burgess led the Rebels with 96 kills for the week. Jordan Madsen finished with 63 kills and Lauren Marron had 31 kills. Audrey Viegluth anchored the defense with 127 digs and 17 aces.
Mountain Brook continued its impressive start to the season. The Spartans knocked off Northridge in regular season action and played in the Border Battle tournament over the weekend. At the tournament, the Spartans beat Hardin Valley, Independence, Collierville and Page. Their only loss came to Cleveland.
For the week, Annie Lacey had 39 kills, 4 blocks and 5 digs. Mae Mae Beatty finished with 29 kills, 7 aces, a block, 8 assists and 31 digs. Hannah Parant racked up 126 assists, 23 kills, 11 aces, 7 blocks and 40 digs.
Key matches on tap this week:
- Hoover at Briarwood on Tuesday
- Chelsea at Spain Park on Tuesday
- Mountain Brook at Homewood on Tuesday
- John Carroll at Oak Mountain on Tuesday
- Oak Mountain at Chelsea on Thursday
- John Carroll vs. Helena on Thursday
- Vestavia Hills vs. Thompson on Thursday
- HeffStrong Tournament this weekend
