The Hartselle Volleyball team won the Class 5A North Super-Regional at the Von Braun Civic Center Saturday night. | Richard Hollingsworth: http://nikonrick.smugmug.com/

Benjamin Maxwell
Special to the Enquirer

Hartselle dominated its region to claim the Class 5A North Super-Regional Champions and a first seed heading into state competition.

“I thought the girls did an excellent job, especially after such a long day,” said Hartselle head Coach Tanya Lybarger.

“They stayed focused and they just played well. I think they progressively got better throughout the day. We set goals early in the year and winning the region was one of them. We wanted to win county and we didn’t do that, but we also wanted to win our area and region and we talked a lot about doing that this week and taking it one game at time. I am very proud that we were able to accomplish that.”

The Tigers road to state began against Center Point on Friday. Hartselle routed the Eagles in three sets with scores 25-16, 25-15 and 25-22. The victory pitted Hartselle against Curry on Saturday.

Hartselle dominated the first two sets, claiming 25-6 and 25-16 set victories over the Yellow Jackets. Curry however did capture the following set 25-20; the only set the Tigers lost in the tournament. Hartselle had the final word in set three, moving on with 25-23 set win.

The Tigers then were set to face off against Boaz for a shot at the championship game. Hartselle again claimed its opponent in three sets, beating the Pirates 25-12, 25-21 and 25-15. Lawrence County defeated Brewer in three sets for its chance to play for the Championship against Hartselle.

Following a long day of stiff competition Hartselle continued to hammer its opponents, even in the Championship match. The Tigers again claimed victory in three sets with scores of 25-19, 25-18 and 25-11.

“I like the atmosphere here; it really resembles what we will be facing at the state competition,” said Lybarger. “Last week we worked a lot on game scenarios, especially crowd sound. We don’t usually have a lot of fan support and are accustomed to this type of environment; it makes it very difficult for the girls to hear each other. That was one thing we practiced a lot before this tournament. I think some of the girls got a little frustrated with it during practice but it really paid off. This tournament helps us because the state tournament will be even louder.”

Hartselle will now move on to face Saraland in the first round of the state tournament on Wednesday, October 31. The match is set for 11 am in Birmingham.

“Now we need to focus on our weaknesses and stay focus on doing our job,” Lybarger said. “If we focus on every girl doing their job, then everything will come together.