Volleyball: Athens qualifies for regional tourney

Published 4:00 pm Tuesday, October 23, 2018

By Staff Reports

The Athens High School volleyball team made some history Monday night as it qualified for the Class 6A North Super Regional tournament for the first time.

The Golden Eagles accomplished the feat by defeating Columbia 3-0 in the Class 6A, Area 15 tournament held at Muscle Shoals High School.

The top two finishing teams in each area tournament qualify for the regional tournament, so even though AHS fell to Muscle Shoals in the championship game, they will move on to the next round of the postseason.

Athens left little in doubt against Columbia, as they dominated the Eagles in three sets. Athens won the first set 25-11 before winning the second set 25-8 and closing out the match with an overwhelming 25-3 rout in the third set.

Brooke Berzett led Athens with 10 kills and five aces, while Gentry Wolfe had seven kills and Jillian Vickers added four kills. Gracie Green and Mary Greg Anderson combined for nine aces, while Alora Thompson had 21 assists to go along with five aces of her own.

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Having secured a regional tournament spot, the championship match was largely ceremonial, as regular season champion Muscle Shoals defeated the Golden Eagles 3-0. The Trojans won the first set 25-18 before winning the second set 25-12 and the third set 25-18.

Berzett, Wolfe and Vickers combined for 13 kills, with Berzett also having seven digs. Green and Elmore combined for 10 digs, while Thompson had 13 assists.

Athens will play its first game in the North Super Regional tournament at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville.

Three other area volleyball teams saw their seasons come to an end in the area tournaments Monday night, as they fell in the semifinal round.

Tanner lost 3-0 to Hatton in the semifinals of the Class 2A, Area 16 tournament, while Clements fell to Colbert Heights 3-1 in the semifinals of the Class 3A, Area 16 tournament. Ardmore fell to East Limestone 3-0 in the semifinals of the Class 5A, Area 16 tournament.

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