ADDISON – It was just another day at the office Monday afternoon as the defending 2A (now in 1A) state volleyball champions, the Addison Lady Bulldogs, dropped the Brilliant Lady Tigers in straight sets and last year’s 1A state champions, the Meek Lady Tigers, in straight sets to claim the 1A Area 12 title.
Abbie Chambless was under the weather, but she didn’t let it show on the court. She took control over both Addison matches, recording an impressive 17 kills and three blocks over the course of six sets. Her twin sister Allie was no slouch in the offensive department either, racking up seven kills of her own. Savannah Manley added seven kills, two aces and two blocks in the span of two matches.
Addison made it to the finals of the 1A Area 12 tournament by taking care of Brilliant, outscoring the Lady Tigers 75-34 over three sets.
In the first set, Addison started strong thanks to a pair of kills by Manley. Brilliant scored the next two points as both squads traded points in the early part of the set. With the score at 4-3, the Lady Bulldogs took firm control of the set by going on a 9-2 run to put Brilliant in a 13-5 hole they were not able to climb out of. Addison scored the final four points, ending the set with a tandem block at the net by Natalie Jefferson and Abbie Chambless to take the set 25-10.
Brilliant came out on fire to start the second set, going on a 5-2 run thanks to kills from Holly Prescott and Taylor Guyton. However, Addison was able to weather the storm to go on a huge 17-2 run to dominate the set, going on to win 25-12.
It was all Lady Bulldogs in the third set. They opened the set on a 10-1 run that put Brilliant on their heels. The Lady Tigers fought hard to stay in the game, but the Lady Bulldogs would not be denied, taking the set 25-12 and the match 3-0 to advance to the finals.
The reigning 1A state champion Meek Lady Tigers took their first steps toward defending their title by dropping the Lynn Lady Bears in three sets.
The first set was the closest of any in the tournament. The Lady Tigers and the Lady Bears went back and forth with serves and points for the entirety of the set before Amanda Cunningham put it away with back-to-back kills to give Meek the 25-22 win.
Meek took control of the second set with an early flurry of offense with kills from Paiton Ory, Sevanna Banks and Cunningham. The set was never in doubt with the Lady Tigers cruising to a 25-16 victory. They finished off the match with a dominating performance in the third set. Meek opened up with a 15-3 run and continued the pressure throughout the set, winning big, 25-7 and taking the match 3-0 to set up a showdown of the 1A and 2A defending state champions as they advanced to take on Addison.
The Addison Lady Bulldogs are a tough team to beat, especially on their home floor, and they proved that by sweeping Meek in impressive fashion.
Addison got the scoring going with three straight kills, two from Makenzie Berry and one from Allie Chamblee to set the tone for the set and match. Kendra Tyree and Maison Evans added kills of their own to help the Lady Bulldogs to a comfortable 25-12 set win.
Down but not out, Meek headed into the second set with a chip on their shoulder and played Addison down to the wire, but it was the Lady Bulldogs who were able to pull away late and snatch set two from Meek with a 25-21 victory.
Meek jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the third set but Addison responded with the next nine points to build an insurmountable lead. The Lady Bulldogs ended the match and claimed the 1A Area 12 title with a block at the net by Jefferson, taking the set 25-10 and the match 3-0.
Both Addison and Meek will start super-regional play Thursday in the South Hall of the Von Braun Civic Center in Huntsville.
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