HANCEVILLE, Ala. – It took five, hard-fought sets to pull it off, but the Good Hope Lady Raiders were able to capture their third straight Cullman County Tournament Championship Thursday night. Good Hope went back and forth with Fairview for four tight sets before putting things away for good in the fifth set 15-11. After the championship match, this year’s All-County and All-Tournament teams were announced, and Lady Raiders senior Ivey Maddox was named Tournament MVP. This year’s Samantha Perdue award was also presented to Cold Springs’ Malaya Taylor.
Earlier in the evening, the JV Tournament Championship was decided as well. West Point took the first set over Fairview 25-21, but the Lady Aggies bounced back to take the second set 25-18. With a county title on the line in the third set, the Lady Warriors topped the Lady Aggies 15-8 and captured this year’s JV County Championship.
Good Hope 3 – Fairview 2 (20-25, 25-18, 23-25, 26-24, 15-11)
Good Hope led the opening set 5-3 early but the Lady Aggies pulled ahead to take a 15-10 lead later in the set and never gave it back. Despite trailing 23-12 at one point, the Lady Raiders climbed back to make it 24-20 but couldn’t quite complete the comeback and Fairview won the set 25-20 to take a 1-0 lead.
Good Hope bounced back in the next set, leading 11-7 early and building a 19-11 lead late. The Lady Aggies managed to trim the lead to 23-18 but didn’t get any closer than that and the Lady Raiders tied things up with a 25-18 win in the second set.
The third set was knotted at 10 early on but a 12-4 run allowed Fairview to move in front 22-14. However, Good Hope responded with a 7-0 run of its own to make it 22-21 and the Lady Aggies were able to narrowly escape another Raiders rally with a 25-23 win.
Good Hope jumped out to a 5-1 start in the fourth set and led 12-8 at one point but it was tight the rest of the way. Fairview cut the lead down to 19-18 later in the set and after falling behind 23-20, the Lady Aggies battled back to tie things up at 24. Down 2-1 and with their backs against the wall, the Lady Raiders scored the next two points to win the fourth set 26-24 and force a fifth and final set for the county title.
Once again Good Hope took a big lead early but just like in the first four sets, a win wouldn’t come easily. Fairview came from behind to trim the Raider lead to 11-7 midway through the set and was able to bring the lead all the way down to two at one point but the Lady Raiders scored the final two points to secure a 15-11 win and their third consecutive county championship.
All-Tournament Team
Ivey Maddox, Good Hope (MVP)
Charly Johnson, Good Hope
Emma Bailey, Good Hope
Campbell Koch, Good Hope
Abby McDonald, Fairview
Kabri Redding, Fairview
Ava Calvarese, Fairview
Laci Segrest, Fairview
Hallie Wheeler, West Point
Laklin Shadix, West Point
Liberty Shadix, West Point
Kamryn Tankersley, Holly Pond
Macie Black, Holly Pond
Emma Earl, Holly Pond
Zoe Pitts, Hanceville
Carly Stephens, Vinemont
Mary Warden, Cold Springs
All-County Team
Ivey Maddox, Good Hope
Emma Bailey, Good Hope
Charly Johnson, Good Hope
Campbell Koch, Good Hope
Abby McDonald, Fairview
Laci Segrest, Fairview
Kabri Redding, Fairview
Liberty Shadix, West Point
Laklin Shadix, West Point
Patton Fell, West Point
Emma Earl, Holly Pond
Kamryn Tankersley, Holly Pond
Kate Sterling, Hanceville
Mary Warden, Cold Springs
Carly Stephens, Vinemont
West Point 2 – Fairview 1 (25-21, 18-25, 15-8)
A kill by Hanna McKenney, followed by an ace from Violet Riddle, gave West Point an early 4-2 lead. The Lady Warriors held a slim 7-5 lead, but five straight points by Fairview, including a kill and a point by Peyton Salazar, gave them a 10-7 lead. The Lady Aggies later pushed their lead to 13-9, but West Point cut it to 13-12. Fairview got a point and a kill from Kailyn Redding as that gave them a 17-13 lead. A pair of aces from Salazar helped give the Lady Warriors an 18-17 lead. West Point increased their lead to 21-18 and got a pair of huge points from Mary Beth Penn that helped them take the first set 25-21.
Fairview got off to a red-hot start in the second set as they jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead. A trio of aces from Salazar helped the Lady Aggies push their lead to 8-2, but an ace from Kelsye Will helped West Point cut it to 9-6. Fairview increased their lead to 14-7, and later on, to 17-10, on an ace from Anna Strane. A late run by the Lady Warriors made it an 18-16 contest, but the Lady Aggies outscored West Point 7-2 the rest of the way and ended up winning the second set 25-18.
The third set was back-and-forth early on. Fairview held a slim 3-1 lead, but a pair of points by Penn and Will tied things up at three. Later on, an ace from McKenney gave West Point a 6-5 lead. Redding collected a point for the Lady Aggies to keep it a one-point game at 7-6, but West Point went on their biggest run of the game, scoring the next seven points, with three of those points coming via ace from Will, as they quickly widened their lead to 14-6. Fairview trimmed it to 14-8, but the biggest point of the game came from the Lady Warriors’ Jacee Bartlett. Her point to end the game helped West Point get past Fairview 15-8 and claim this year’s JV county championship.
JV All-Tournament Team
Kelsye Will, West Point
Violet Riddle, West Point
Bella Thornton, West Point
Peyton Salazar, Fairview
Kailyn Redding, Fairview
Ralie Gaines, Fairview
Caselyn Whatley, Good Hope
Maggie O’Neil, Good Hope
Lexi Marshall, Good Hope
Cameron Baty, Cold Springs
Bella McAfee, Hanceville
Mabri Smith, Vinemont
Mila Edmondson, Holly Pond
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