Two to Birmingham
- Updated: October 27, 2017
County tournament finalists Pleasant Valley, Alexandria heading to Elite Eight, play for regional position Saturday
By East Alabama Sports Today
HUNTSVILLE — Alexandria and Pleasant Valley are heading to the volleyball Elite Eight after winning a pair of matches in the North regional at the Von Braun Center Friday.
Alexandria beat Cleburne County and Mortimer Jordan in straight sets in the 5A regional, while Pleasant Valley beat Brindlee Mountain and West Morgan in straight sets in 3A.
Alexandria (40-8), last year’s Class 5A state runner-up, will play Arab (31-13) in the regional semifinals Saturday. PV (52-6) plays Lexington (49-2) Saturday. Both matches begin at 10 a.m.
St. John Paul II (21-28) and Lawrence County (55-4) are the other 5A regional semifinalists. Carbon Hill (66-9) and Geraldine (46-10) are the other 3A regional semifinals. They’re all going to Birmingham as well.
“Our girls have worked super hard this season to get back where they were last year and get another chance,” Alexandria coach Whitney Welch said. “I’m glad we were able to seal that opportunity this afternoon.”
Weaver came close to joining them, beating Sylvania 3-1, winning its regional opener for the second year in a row. But the Lady Bearcats lost Lexington 3-0 in the second round.
Alexandria got contributions across the board to earn its trip back to the Crossplex. Taylor Spradley had 16 kills and Aubrey Pope 10 against Mortimer Jordan. Kendal Bumpus had 11 kills and China Lane nine against Cleburne County. Gracie Muncher had 26 and 28 assists.
“I feel like both were team wins for sure,” Alexandria coach Whitney Welch said. “Everyone pulled their weight and we were able to spread the ball around a lot offensively.”
PV is back in the Elite Eight for the first time since 2011. Area tournament MVP Mikayla Kendrick had 31 kills and a .350 hitting percentage in the two matches. Anna Bryant had 17 kills and 34 assists. Savannah Williams had 26 assists and seven aces. Blakely Malsy had eight kills and eight blocks. Alisa St. John had 17 kills and six aces.
“The girls are super excited to finally be going back to the State Tournament,” Lady Raiders coach Dana Bryant said. “We are very blessed and appreciate the opportunity to advance.”
Wellborn and Piedmont both fell in the opening round of the 3A regional earlier in the day. Wellborn lost to Plainview 3-0 and Piedmont fell to Geraldine 3-0.
ALEXANDRIA 3, CLEBURNE COUNTY 0
(25-13, 25-4, 25-10)
(Alexandria statistics)
KILLS – Taylor Spradley 6, Aubrey Pope 6, Kendal Bumpus 11, China Lane 9, Kameron Simpson 1.
ASSISTS – Gracie Muncher 26, Kayleigh Steen 6.
DIGS – Aubrey Pope 3, Kendal Bumpus 3, Mattie Wade 3, Kinsley Gregoria 9, Kaitlin Harvey 2, Gracie Muncher 3, Kyleigh Rhodes 1.
BLOCKS – Kendal Bumpus 1, China Lane 1, Mattie Wade 1.
ACES – Aubrey Pope 7, Mattie Wade 5, Kinsley Gregoria 6.
ALEXANDRIA 3, MORTIMER JORDAN 0
(25-18, 25-15, 26-24)
(Alexandria statistics)
KILLS – Taylor Spradley 16, Aubrey Pope 10, Kendal Bumpus 7, China Lane 3, Mattie Wade 4, Gracie Muncher 1.
ASSISTS – Kendal Bumpus 1, Mattie Wade 1, Kaitlin Harvey 1, Gracie Muncher 28.
DIGS – Taylor Spradley 1, Aubrey Pope 10, Kendal Bumpus 1, China Lane 1, Mattie Wade 7, Kinsley Gregoria 7, Kaitlin Harvey 5, Gracie Muncher 6.
BLOCKS – Taylor Spradley 1, Kendal Bumpus 2, China Lane 1, Mattie Wade 1, Gracie Muncher 1.
ACES – Kendal Bumpus 5, Mattie Wade 1, Kaitlin Harvey 1.
PLEASANT VALLEY 3, BRINDLEE MOUNTAIN 0
(25-13, 25-12, 25-14)
PLEASANT VALLEY 3, WEST MORGAN 0
(25-15, 25-17, 25-15)
(Combined PV statistics)
KILLS – Mikayla Kendrick 31, Blakely Malsy 8, Savannah Williams 6, Anna Bryant 17, Rylee Haynes 1, Karmyn Sparks 1, Alisa St. John 17.
ASSISTS – Blakely Malsy 1, Savannah Williams 26, Anna Bryant 34, Alisa St. John 1.
DIGS – Mikayla Kendrick 6, Blakely Malsy 2, Savannah Williams 18, Anna Bryant 20, Rylee Haynes 3, Madison Bentley 34, Maggie Hedgepath 13, Alisa St. John 29.
BLOCKS – Mikayla Kendrick 3, Blakely Malsy 8, Savannah Williams 2, Anna Bryant 2, Karmyn Sparks 3, Alisa St. John 4.
ACES – Mikayla Kendrick 1, Savannah Williams 7, Anna Bryant 1, Madison Bentley 3, Alisa St. John 6.
Other scores
Weaver 3, Sylvania 1 (25-10, 16-25, 25-17, 25-18)
Lexington 3, Weaver 0 (25-18, 25-10, 29-27)
Plainview 3, Wellborn 0 (25-15, 25-8, 25-10)
Geraldine 3, Piedmont 0 (25-1, 25-5, 25-11)
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