Donoho clinches area
- Updated: September 29, 2015
Lady Falcons serve up three-set win over Sacred Heart to earn right to host area tournament
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Donoho clinched the right to host its area volleyball tournament Tuesday with a 3-0 win over Sacred Heart.
The Lady Falcons won 25-17, 25-13, 25-21 to complete a sweep of its once-through area schedule.
Donoho coach Janice Slay had nothing to say about an otherwise positive result after the 50-minute match although she did acknowledge compliments about her team playing well and its strong service game.
“I think that’s the best they’ve served all year,” said Sacred Heart coach Peyton Van Ekris, a former Donoho player facing her old team in its gym for the first time.
The Falcons (25-6) scored 14 aces in the match, split among five players, giving them an even 200 for the season. Camille Fink had six aces and seven kills.
She had three kills in a run of 11 straight points off her serve in the middle of the second set.
“Camille killed it,” teammate Anna Marie Woodfin said.
Madison Gaines had three aces, Woodfin and Katie Brown had two each and Kayla Wallace had one. Wallace had seven kills, Brown had 25 assists, Woodfin had 14 digs and Camryn Swain had 11 digs.
With Donoho serving so well, Sacred Heart had to resort to a defensive posture. Three players had at least a dozen digs. Juni Sansui had 16, Olivia Simmons had 13 and Haley Shaw had 12.
“We just had to play defense,” Van Ekris said. “When you can’t do your offense, you have to play your defense, so we decided to play defensively today.”
Faith Christian will be the second seed in the area, Sacred Heart is third and JCA is fourth.
WHITE PLAINS 3, OHATCHEE 2
OHATCHEE — The Lady Wildcats “showed a lot of fight down the stretch” bouncing back from dropping the first two sets.
Ohatchee won the first two sets 26-24, 25-18, but White Plains roared back 25-21, 25-13, 15-12.
“We kept our composure,” White Plains coach Joi Watts said. “I simply told the girls to keep playing.
“Ohatchee did some really good things. We didn’t play bad ball the first two games, but we were flat. I kept pressing them to stay focused on what we’ve been working on and keep playing.”
AK Dothard led the Lady Wildcats with 16 kills, 14 digs and two blocks. Carsyn Morrow had 12 kills and three blocks, Landry Bussey had eight kills and three blocks, Haley Helms had 33 digs and two aces, and Ryleigh Randall had 48 assists, two aces and nine digs.
“It was a lot of fun to come back and beat them in their own gym; I like hearing the opposing stands get quiet,” Bussey said. “It was a tough win and now we have a lot of momentum going into county this Saturday.”
PLEASANT VALLEY 3, WELLBORN 0
Pleasant Valley may not have been as sharp as it has been at times this season, but the Lady Raiders handled the Panthers 25-19, 25-15, 25-20 to complete another 6-0 season sweep of Class 3A Area 12.
Madi Bentley had two of her four aces in an 9-1 run that gave the Lady Raiders (23-5) command of the third set, but Wellborn made them work to close out the match. The Panthers drew within 20-17 off some nice kills by Elizabeth Wyatt and Aubrey Woodard.
The Lady Raiders were missing outside hitter Alisa St. John, but despite the disruption everyone seemed to pick up the slack. Anna Bryant had six kills, five digs and 19 assists. Cammy Cameron had 14 kills, two aces and nine digs. Leah Johnson had five kills and two blocks. Blakey Malsey had two kills, two aces, two blocks and three digs.
Mikayla Kendrick had three kills, Savannah Williams had four digs and two kills, and Taylor Williams had 10 digs.
Wyatt had 10 kills and six digs for Wellborn. Paige Haney had three kills and 15 digs, while Annalaya Smith had 15 assists and six digs.
“We didn’t play very well; we’ll have to do better if we expect to win next time out,” PV coach Dana Bryant said.
OXFORD 3, PELL CITY 0
The Yellow Jackets swept Pell City 25-11, 25-15, 25-25 to clinch the second seed in its three-team area. They will play Chelsea in the tournament to determine the area’s second team in the regionals.
Nyia Archie had seven kills, two digs and two aces. Brian Nolan had seven digs, three kills and two aces. Winter Taylor had nine kills, Taylor Ellison had 10 digs and Chloe Stone had 14 assists.
The Jackets (26-12) are off until Saturday’s Calhoun County Tournament, where they are the No. 1 seed for the second year in a row.
FAITH CHRISTIAN 2, ANNISTON 0
FAITH CHRISTIAN 2, TALLADEGA 0
The Lady Lions beat Anniston 25-11, 25-19 and Talladega 25-21, 25-11. They improved to 16-11.
Madison Stephens led Faith with seven kills, 17 digs and eight assists. Montana Huie had five kills and five blocks.
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