Hartselle, Danville cruise in sub-state wins
Hartselle players didn’t want to spend a whole lot of time on the court during a sub-state match with Moody last week at the Pettey Center.
The Lady Tigers surrendered just 31 points on the way to a dominating 25-9, 25-13, 25-9 victory to start a celebration as Hartselle earned its fifth straight trip to the Elite Eight state tournament.
Hartselle improved to 53-20 with the win over out-matched Moody.
“I felt like we came out really focused and we played well,” said Hartselle head coach Tanya Lybarger.
Hartselle was scheduled to open against Faith Academy in the Elite Eight tournament Wednesday afternoon,
Olivia Golden led Hartselle with 11 kills. Katelyn Hill added six kills, while Kaylee Shelton finished with four. Katie Clark, Savanne Howard and Taylor Lybarger added three kills each.
Howard and Elizabeth Russell had 15 assists each, while Howard had a team-high six aces. Golden and Russell had four aces each.
Chelsea Bennich finished with a team-high 16 digs. Hill finished with three blocks, while Shelton and Clark added two and one block respectively.
Danville shows Elite power
Danville earned its sixth straight trip to the Elite Eight with a 25-27, 26-24, 25-16, 25-20 victory over Madison Academy Thursday in a Class 3A sub-state match in Danville.
The Lady Hawks, who also beat Madison Academy to open the season, was scheduled to face Montgomery Academy at 12:30 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the state tournament.
Lindsay Simmons and Ashley Nance tallied 23 and 21 kills respectively for the Lady Hawks, who improved to 53-20 overall.
“We made a lot of mistakes, but we fought through them,” said Danville head coach Spencer Cole. “We just gave Madison Academy so many easy points and you can’t do that against a team like Madison Academy. Our defense was solid and that’s what saved us.”
Simmons also had a team-high three aces in the match. Kaitlin Wallace had 47 assists, while Sydnie Shelton added a team-high five blocks.
Lacey Evans finished with 24 digs. Morgan Doherty, Wallace and Simmons each added 12 digs for Danville.
“Lindsay somehow found ways to score just like she always does,” Cole said. “Kaitlin also did a terrific job of setting out-of-system passes in front of our hitters.
“The bottom line is we just persevered and that says a lot about our team.”
