First time's the charm

By Staff
Brewer, Hartselle advance to Elite Eight for first time in school history
Justin Schuver, Hartselle Enquirer
For the first time in Hartselle High School history, the Lady Tigers are going to the Elite Eight.
Hartselle had little trouble defeating Pleasant Grove Thursday evening at the J.C. Pettey Center, moving past the Lady Spartans in three games (25-6, 25-7, 25-10) to advance to the state’s final eight. Hartselle was the winner of Region D and Pleasant Grove was the No. 4 seed out of Region C.
The Lady Tigers, playing at home for the last time this season, were bolstered by their fans and trailed just once during the entire match. In every game, Hartselle had a run of at least six straight points.
Hartselle was led by Mary Virginia Reeves’ nine kills, followed by Lauren Drake with eight and Cerra Little with six. Kayla Orr had a team-high 30 assists while Reeves had three aces and Drake added seven digs.
Hartselle opened the Elite Eight against Gulf Shores Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. Results of the Elite Eight matches were not available at presstime.
Brewer also advances to Elite Eight
The Lady Patriots made it a complete sweep for Region D teams as they knocked off Gardendale three games to zero on the road in the sub-state round Thursday.
Brewer advanced to the Elite Eight state finals along with Muscle Shoals, Scottsboro and Hartselle — giving Region D teams a 4-0 record over their Region C opponents in the sub-state round (Gardendale was the Region C champion). Class 5A, Region D was the only region in the state to have all four sub-state qualifiers advance to the Elite Eight.
The Lady Patriots took the win by scores of 25-19, 26-24, 25-16 and advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in Brewer’s history.
Andrea Crawford led the way with 10 kills while Michelle Tillman had eight and Kendra Jones finished with six. Kayla Amerine led the Lady Patriots with eight blocks. Genie Browning finished with 13 assists, followed by Rebecca Alderton with 10.
Brewer opened at the Elite Eight against John Carroll at 11 a.m. Results of the Elite Eight matches were not available at presstime.