Elite Eight awaits HHS, DHS
By By Todd Thompson, Hartselle Enquirer
Getting to the Elite Eight has become tradition for the volleyball programs at Hartselle and Danville.
Hartselle beat Springville in the sub-state round Thursday to earn its third straight trip to the state volleyball tournament.
Danville did the same to Holly Pond in its sub-state match.
Now the two teams hope to return home from Pelham this week with state championships. Neither team has ever won a state volleyball championship.
Hartselle struggled early, but battled back to beat Springville 21-25, 25-13, 25-17, 25-12 to earn a spot in the state tournament.
The Lady Tigers will face Briarwood Christian at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Class 5A quarterfinals at the Pelham Civic Center.
Hartselle improved to 50-18 overall with the win over Springville, who finished its season with a 36-15 record.
Cory Livingston finished with 22 kills and 14 digs in the match. Little had 39 assists, four kills, 16 digs and 12 aces.
The Lady Tigers also got eight kills each from Mallory Jones and Alex Holmes.
Holmes also had five blocks and a pair of digs.
Chelsea Bennich led the Lady Tigers with 18 digs, while Callie Miller had 11 digs. Olivia Golden chipped in with six kills and 10 digs.
Danville sweeps Holly Pond
Danville beat sixth-ranked Holly Pond in three straight games to secure a fourth-straight appearance in the Elite Eight tournament in Pelham.
The Lady Hawks will face Trinity Presbyterian at 11 a.m. Wednesday in the Class 3A quarterfinals at the Pelham Civic Center.
Three of Danville’s four seniors - Kirby Wallace, Jordan Spinks and Chelsea Keenum - all played on last year’s team that went to Pelham.
The Lady Hawks ended Holly Pond’s season with the 25-23, 25-23, 25-21 win. Danville trailed 23-20 in the first game, but scored the final five points to take a 1-0 lead.
Danville held off strong challenges from Holly Pond in the next two games to earn the trip to the state tournament.
The win avenged a loss to Holly Pond in August.
The Hawks took advantage of Holly Pond’s positioning with several kills right down the side lines for points against the Lady Broncos.
Danville improved to 36-25 overall with the win.
Jordan Spinks led Danville with 15 kills and eight digs, while Wallace added eight kills, four aces and 10 digs. The Lady Hawks also got eight kills and three blocks from Lindsay Simmons.
Keenum had four aces and three blocks, Kaitlin Wallace had 15 assists, Lacey Evans had 15 digs and Ashley Nance had two blocks. Kimberly Simmons had 18 assists.
