The Class 6A No. 5 Hartselle Lady Tigers and the Class 4A No. 1 Danville Lady Hawks are headed to the Final Eight State Volleyball Tournament.

The Lady Hawks won the Class 4A North division while Hartselle finished after finishing fourth in the Class 5A North Super Regional Volleyball Tournament at the Von Braun Center Saturday.

Hartselle  (34-24) is appearing in the Final Eight for the ninth year in a row.

They will face No. 1 John Carroll (37-8) at the Birmingham Crossplex  Wednesday at 12:30 p.m.

Danville will take on Straughn in the state quarterfinals Wednesday at 12:30 p.m.

Hartselle advanced to the state tournament by defeating Homewood 25-13, 25-19, 25-17 and Oxford 25-21, 25-23, 25-16 in opening and quarterfinal regional matches. They lost to No. 4 Walker 25-18, 27-25, 25-19 and No. 6 Muscle Shoals 25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 18-25, 16-14.

“Our girls were very focused and played their best against Oxford,” said head coach Tanya Lybarger. “If they do that again against John Carroll, I think they have a good chance to win.

“We beat then in five games in the North Super Regional last year,” she said,” but they moved to the South regional this year. We also played them early in the season when we were struggling to find our identity and lost.

“Our girls started the season with a losing record, but they didn’t let that get them down,” Lybarger said. “They “They learned how to play together, encourage each other and stay focused one game at a time. That’s what makes this team stand out.”

The Lady Tigers will be supported by a send-off rally behind the cafeteria Tuesday at 11 a.m.

Danville wins North

Danville won the 4A North Super Regional Tournament Friday and Saturday, going undefeated in the number one slot.

DHS defeated No. 8 Saks in the first round 25-10, 25-18, 25-9 to advance in the Class 4A, North Super Regional.

Sydni Shelton paced the Hawks with 10 kills, 11 digs and two aces. Kellee Stiles added eight kills and two aces. Mikayla Koins added six kills and two blocks. Charlee Anderson added 23 assists and seven digs. Alexis Snow had 10 digs while Morgan Weatherwax added 7 digs.

The Lady Hawks beat No. 9 Crossville 25-6, 25-8, 25-10 Saturday morning in the quarterfinals.

They went on to defeat Deshler 25-12, 25-13, 25-17 in the semifinal round.

Danville was victorious over Jacksonville 18-25, 25-12, 25-12, 20-25, 15-8 in an exciting final match, making the Lady Hawks 48-11 before moving on to state.

DHS had outstanding serving throughout the tournament, racking up 18 aces in their three sets against Deshler and 16 aces against Jacksonville.

Stiles led the team in aces with 18 on the tournament. Stiles also had 27 kills and 24 digs. Shelton had 44 kills, four blocks, 30 digs and two aces. Jada Harris tallied 16 kills, and Koins had 22 kills and 11 blocks. Anderson racked up 95 assists, 30 digs and 11 aces. Courtney Watts had three blocks, Weatherwax had 24 digs and Snow had nine aces and 45 digs.

Danville plays in the state 4A quarterfinals Wed., Oct. 29 (today) at 12:30 p.m. at the Birmingham Crossplex. The 4A semifinals and finals will follow at 5:30 and 6 p.m.