Saks falls in Elite Eight

By EASportsToday.com
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Updated: October 28, 2015

Jacksonville, Donoho earn spots in Final Four; Jax plays Brooks, Donoho plays Decatur Heritage

Jordan Briskey plays a shot back over the net in Saks’ Elite Eight match with St. James Wednesday morning. On the cover, Saks coach Randy Law goes over instructions with his team during a time out. (Photo by Kristen Stringer/Krisp Pics Photography)

By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today

BIRMINGHAM – The dream of an all-Calhoun County 4A volleyball state final was dashed Wednesday morning when Saks fell to St. James 3-1 in one of the earliest matches of the day in the Elite Eight at Birmingham’s Crossplex.

The game scores were 25-18, 22-25, 25-20, 25-20. A win would have kept the Lady Wildcats on track for a possible state finals date with Jacksonville. The Golden Eagles defeated Trinity Presbyterian in three sets to reach the Final Four.

Meanwhile, Donoho’s “Super 8” reached the Class 1A Final Four with a 3-0 win over Fruitdale.

Jacksonville (30-12), the No. 3 seed from the North, will play Brooks (42-10) at 3:30 p.m.; Donoho (45-8), the No. 1 seed from the North, will play Decatur Heritage at 5:30 p.m.

St. James (31-8) was the top seed from the South. Saks (47-10) was the No. 4 from the North.

“I think everybody thought we were underdogs, but we thought we had a chance … we felt we could play with them,” Saks coach Randy Law said. “They’re disappointed. I told them if it doesn’t hurt something’s wrong with them.”

The Lady Wildcats never led in the first set. They opened leads of 11-3 and 14-7 in the second, but St. James rallied to take a 21-20 lead before Saks scored five of the last six points to even the match.

Saks led 10-3 and 14-11 in the third set, but St. James went on an 8-1 run to take command. The Trojans (31-8) pulled away from the fourth set with four consecutive points to build a five-point lead they maintained to the finish.

“That’s the game of volleyball – it’s peaks and valleys,” Law said. “We tried to get over them and we did. We fought hard. They gave it everything they had. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Jordan Briskey led the Lady Wildcats with 17 kills. Tayler Teague had eight kills and Jaelyn Wilson had 36 assists.

In the other two local matches, Donoho defeated Fruitdale 25-18, 25-16, 25-12; and Jacksonville defeated Trinity Presbyterian 25-23, 25-23, 25-22.

Neither coach of the two locals winners were particular happy with their teams’ start.

“That was about as bad as you can play and still win,” Donoho coach Janice Slay said. “We’ve got to get better.”

Madison Gaines led the Lady Falcons will 11 kills, two blocks and five aces. Camille Fink and Kayla Wallace delivered eight kills apiece and Katie Brown had 32 assists.

Jacksonville coach David Clark saw improvement from his team as its match went on, but he knows it will have to play better moving forward as well.

The Golden Eagles came back from a 14-9 deficit in the first set of their match. They opened a 5-1 lead in the second set, but trailed 10-7 before re-establishing control. The third set was tight, especially at 21-20 and 23-22, but they always managed to hold the lead.

“It wasn’t terrific, but I think we’ve settled there,” Clark said. “And when we settled in the match the volleyball got better.”

Sierra Stone had 10 kills and four blocks, Aniyah Robinson had nine kills, Elizabeth Poe had eight kills, Halee Holtbrooks 13 assists and Tatiyana Thomas had 12 assists.

AHSAA ELITE EIGHT
(Calhoun County brackets)

Class 1A
Donoho def. Fruitdale, 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-12)
Brilliant def. Isabella, 3-2 (18-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-19, 15-10)
Meek def. Kinston, 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-15)
Decatur Heritage def. Pleasant Home, 3-0 (29-27, 25-22, 25-23)

Class 4A
St. James def. Saks, 3-1 (25-18, 22-25, 25-20, 25-20)
Danville def. UMS-Wright, 3-1 (25-17, 25-16, 19-25, 25-19)
Brooks def. Satsuma, 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-13)
Jacksonville def. Trinity Presbyterian, 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-22)