Hartselle, Danville in Elite Eight

By Staff
Todd Thompson, Hartselle Enquirer
Hartselle’s volleyball team knows the way to Pelham.
After three straight trips to the Elite Eight tournament at the Pelham Civic Complex, the Lady Tigers are more than familiar with the route. The goal this year is to stay the duration of the tournament.
Hartselle earned its fourth trip to Pelham in four years with a dominating 25-11, 25-23, 25-10 victory over Central-Tuscaloosa Thursday afternoon in a Class 5A sub-state game.
Hartselle was scheduled to face John Carroll in the opening round of the Elite Eight tournament Wednesday in a match played after press time.
Hartselle has won eight straight matches and ran its win streak in games to 15 with the 3-0 victory over the Lady Falcons.
Senior Alex Holmes had nine kills and one ace in the victory, while fellow senior Callie Miller added 15 digs and 17 assists.
Hartselle also got an 11-kill performance from Olivia Golden. She added nine digs, one ace and 10 assists in the win.
Cory Livingston had eight kills and 12 digs for Hartselle, while Katelyn Hill added six kills. Savannah Lacy added two kills and Chelsea Bennich finished with three aces. Kelly-Grace Johnson chipped in with one ace in the match.
Hartselle was ousted from the Elite Eight tournament last season with a first-round loss to Briarwood Christian.
The Class 5A semifinals were played at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, with the finals set for 10:30 a.m. Thursday.
Danville advances
Danville bounced Madison Academy, the Class 3A runnerup a year ago, from the field with a drawn out 25-18, 25-21, 24-26, 17-25, 15-9 victory Thursday afternoon.
The win sent Danville to the Elite Eight tournament for the fifth straight season. The Lady Hawks reached the semifinals last year before losing to eventual Class 3A state champion Bayside Academy.
Lindsay Simmons finished with 18 kills and three aces in the win.
Ashley Nance added a team-high 22 kills for the Lady Hawks, while Tara Wimberley had 19 digs and three aces.
The Lady Hawks got 43 assists and 12 digs from Kaitlin Wallace and Lacey Evans finished with 13 digs.
Danville enters the tournament on a hot streak, having won seven of its last nine matches.
Danville opened the Elite Eight tournament at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday against Montgomery Academy (43-7).
The semifinals were at 8:30 p.m., with the Class 3A championship match starting at 3 p.m. Thursday.