Hartselle can't finish; falls to Austin in finals of county volleyball tournament
By Staff
Justin Schuver, Hartselle Enquirer
In the end, it came down to just one point.
Hartselle finished in second place at the Morgan County Volleyball Tournament at Brewer High School Oct. 4, as Austin defeated the Lady Tigers in three games, 25-20, 26-28, 15-12.
After winning Game 1 over the Lady Bears, Hartselle had three separate opportunities for a match point in Game 2. The Lady Tigers held leads of 24-23, 25-24 and 26-25 but couldn't score the decisive winning point as Austin held on to send it to a tiebreaker.
The tiebreaker was another missed opportunity for Hartselle, which led the final game 11-7 at one point.
Hartselle was trying to win its first county title since 2004; Austin's win was its first since 2005.
"I don't think the girls gave up, but I do think they were getting a little tired. We'd been playing since 2 o'clock and really didn't have a break," said Hartselle coach Tanya Lybarger. "But at the same time there's a mental part to it. We've still got to get over that hump mentally and finish."
The Lady Bears and Lady Tigers met for the fourth time this season, with their records moving to 2-2 against each other.
Hartselle defeated Decatur in a semifinal match 25-17, 20-25, 15-11 while Austin knocked out Danville in the other semifinal, 25-15, 25-15. Austin and Decatur had first-round byes while Hartselle and Danville each swept their first-round opponents.
Hartselle defeated West Morgan in the first round, 25-18, 25-14. The Lady Tigers were 2-0 in pool play, needing three games to defeat both Brewer (17-25, 25-21, 15-11) and Danville (25-22, 20-25, 15-7).
Chandler Orr had 39 kills for Hartselle in the five matches, followed by Dana Lacey with 31 and Cory Livingston with 22. Cerra Little had 102 assists. Livingston led the Lady Tigers with five aces, followed by Shauna Clemons and Lacey with four. Clemons also had a team-high 36 digs.
Danville, the runner-up in last season's tournament, had little trouble with its first-round opponent as it defeated Decatur Heritage 25-17, 25-2. The Lady Hawks were 1-1 in pool play, losing to Hartselle 25-22, 25-20, 15-7 but defeating Brewer 25-18, 25-23.
On the night, Danville was led by Alaina Fitzgerald's 28 kills, followed by Jordan Spinks and Lindsey Simmons with 22 each. Lacey Evans had 34 digs to lead the Lady Hawks and Simmons led with 11 aces, followed by Kirby Wallace's nine. Fitzgerald had 44 assists, followed by Kimberly Lindsey with 26.
Defending champion Brewer failed to make it out of pool play, along with Priceville and Falkville. Priceville dropped matches to Austin (14-25, 14-25) and West Morgan (19-25, 25-14, 17-15) while Falkville fell to Decatur (14-25, 24-26) and Decatur Heritage (16-25, 25-21, 11-15).
All-Tournament Team:
Austin's Lindsey Rogers, Brittney Smith and Shara Foster; Brewer's Meagan Hormel; Danville's Alaina Fitzgerald and Jordan Spinks; Decatur's Whitney Fletcher and Shannon Laughlin; Decatur Heritage's Alex Ellsworth and Lou Ellen Thompson; Falkville's Megan Hill; Hartselle's Cerra Little, Dana Lacey and Chandler Orr; Priceville's Sumer Boyd and West Morgan's Kelley Seal and Sara Hulvey.