Opening night drama
- Updated: August 19, 2022
Alexandria, White Plains overcome some early adversity to win their season-opening matches
THURSDAY’S SCORES
Alexandria 2, Lawrence County 0 (25-21, 25-23)
Alexandria 2, Madison Academy 0 (25-18, 25-23)
Munford 3, Vincent 0 (25-10, 25-9, 25-15)
Southside 2, Oxford 0 (25-13, 27-25)
Thompson 2, Oxford 0 (26-24, 25-14)
Wellborn 2, Glencoe 1
Wellborn 2, Weaver 0 (25-13, 25-8)
Glencoe 2, Weaver 0 (25-15, 25-17)
White Plains 3, Piedmont 1 (20-25, 26-24, 25-19, 25-16)
Faith Christian 2, Jacksonville Christian 1
Faith Christian at Spring Garden
Jacksonville, Pell City at Ashville
Pleasant Valley at Hokes Bluff
Woodland at Cleburne County
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
MOULTON – The Alexandria volleyball team faced its share of adversity during the season last year and handled it better earlier than later.
The Lady Cubs faced adversity twice in their season-opening tri-match Thursday night and fought through both situations to sweep Lawrence County and Madison Academy.
They were down by 10 late in the second set against Lawrence County and came back to close it out 25-21, 25-23. They faced a similar deficit in the second set against Madison Academy and again came back, 25-18, 25-23.
“I’m proud of them for fighting back,” Lady Cubs coach Whitney Welch said. “I thought we handled adversity well last year many times but not at the end when it mattered most I think this group learned a lot from that and are in a good mindset to learn and grow every day as it’s a process.
“We are not looking towards the end, but we know that what we do each day will affect our outcome when it matters at the most integral part of the season.”
Kailey Dickerson had a big opening night for the Lady Cubs. She had 13 kills in the win over Lawrence County and eight kills, four digs and two blocks against Madison Academy.
Brie Troup was strong at the net in both matches, going for five kills and four blocks against Lawrence County and three kills and three blocks against Madison Academy.
Christian Hess had 18 assists in the Lawrence County match and eight against Madison Academy. Devan White and Brenlee Sparks each had nine digs against Madison Academy.
“There’s always nerves on Day One and traveling on Day One always has its downsides, so I’m proud of our fight and determination,” Welch said. “We’ve still got a long way to go, but it’s definitely a good start playing against some of the best.”
Alexandria stats
Alexandria def. Lawrence County, 25-21, 25-23
KILLS: Kailey Dickerson 13, Brie Troup 5, Eryn Spradley 4, Christian Hess 1, Devan White 1, Ava Johnson 2, Kirsten Heathcock 1, Madison Foster 2.
ASSISTS: Kailey Dickerson 1, Christian Hess 18, Devan White 1.
DIGS: Kailey Dickerson 2, Christian Hess 3, Devan White 4, Ava Johnson 1, Kirsten Heathcock 1, Brenlee Sparks 5.
BLOCKS: Kailey Dickerson 1, Brie Troup 4, Eryn Spradley 2, Christian Hess 1, Ava Johnson 1, Madison Foster 1.
ACES: Kailey Dickerson 1, Brie Troup 1, Devan White 1, Ava Johnson 1, Brenlee Sparks 1.
Alexandria def. Madison Academy, 25-18, 25-23
KILLS: Kailey Dickerson 8, Brie Troup 3, Devan White 2, Kirsten Heathcock 1, Madison Foster 1.
ASSISTS: Christian Hess 8, Pressley Slaton 1, Madison Foster 1.
DIGS: Kailey Dickerson 4, Brie Troup 1, Eryn Spradley 1, Christian Hess 1, Pressley Slaton 1, Devan White 9, Ava Johnson 7, Brenlee Sparks 9.
BLOCKS: Kailey Dickerson 2, Brie Troup 3, Christian Hess 1, Madison Foster 1.
ACES: Kailey Dickerson 1, Christian Hess 1, Devan White 2, Brenlee Sparks 1.
White Plains 3, Piedmont 1
The Lady Wildcats won their season opener after dropping the first set and falling behind 20-18 in the second after opening an 18-6 lead that forced coach Bradley Dawson to call an attention-getting time out.
“I told them we are too old and experienced for me to have to call a time out to stop them,” Dawson said. “If this would have been late in the year or regionals I would have called it sooner, but eight of the nine are juniors or seniors. We’ve got to learn how to stop runs without me having to burn a time out. But they rallied back and won.”
Bella Higgins led White Plains with 16 kills, nine aces, five blocks and 10 digs. Braton Moran had four kills, five aces and 24 assists. Leighton Arnold had six kills, two aces and five digs. Mary Scism had six kills and three aces.
“I think our biggest key is we are a pretty aggressive serving team,” Dawson said. We got a little sloppy at times, but I’m really proud of the girls for just competing the whole game.”
Southside 2, Oxford 0
Thompson 2, Oxford 0
SOUTHSIDE – The Lady Jackets were swept in a pair of matches, losing a tight, extra-point set in each match.
The Lady Jackets were led by Jamea Gaston and Payton Brooks. Gaston had six kills, five assists and five digs, while Brooks recorded eight digs and 11 assists.
Oxford stats
KILLS: Jamea Gaston 6, Abbie Mitchell 8, Daelyn Bozeman 6, Jaslyn Montgomery 4.
ASSISTS: Jamea Gaston 5, Payton Brooks 11, Jaslyn Montgomery 2.
DIGS: Jamea Gaston 5, Payton Brooks 8, Ashlyn Burns 8, Abbie Mitchell 5, Daelyn Bozeman 5, Arilyn Pool 7.
Munford 3, Vincent 0: The Lady Lions swept their season opener behind seven aces by Anijah Gladden and seven kills from Blair Darby. Ellie Jones had four kills and five aces. Setter Kyleigh Hurst recorded 15 assists.
Munford stats
KILLS: Blair Darby 7, Ellie Jones 4, Mylie Stephens 4, Anijah Gladden 1, Kyleigh Hurst.
ACES: Anijah Gladden 7, Ellie Jones 5, Ashtyn Bishop 2, Taite Brasher 2, Kyleigh Hurst 1.
ASSISTS: Kyleigh Hurst 15, Ashtyn Bishop 1.
DIGS: Ashtyn Bishop 3, Blair Darby 1, Anijah Gladden 1, Ellie Jones 1, Aubrey Lanthem 1, Alys Mosley 1.
BLOCKS: Kaylyn Turner 2.
Wellborn 2, Glencoe 1
The Lady Panthers rallied to beat Glencoe after dropping the first set 25-19. They went on to sweep Weaver 2-0. Glencoe also defeated Weaver 2-0.
For Weaver, Jada Harrington had six kills and two blocks against Glencoe and three kills in the Wellborn match. Madison Atchley had six kills against Glencoe, Gracie Duncan had two aces in each match and Alana Cooper had 15 assists in the two matches.
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