GOOD HOPE, Ala. – This year’s 4A, Area 12 Tournament tipped off at Good Hope Tuesday night and the hosting Lady Raiders downed Oneonta to claim the area title and punch their ticket to the next round. After Oneonta swept Hanceville in three straight sets, Good Hope ended up sweeping the Lady Redskins 3-0 to capture another area championship.
Oneonta 3 – Hanceville 0 (Game One)
Oneonta held a slim 3-2 lead early on in the first set, then a big 7-0 run by the Lady Redskins pushed their lead to 10-2. A block point by Kate Sterling stopped the run and made it a 10-3 game, but Oneonta scored the next eight points to widen their lead to 18-3. An ace from Zoe Pitts made it an 18-5 game, and later on, a point by Eden Clements, an ace from Olivia Stallings, and a point by Alex Twitty cut it to 24-9. Oneonta, though, collected the final point as they ended up taking the first set, 25-9.
The Lady Redskins got out to a quick 7-2 lead in the second set, but the Lady Bulldogs trimmed it to 8-4 on a point by Clements, and later on, to 10-6 on an ace from Stallings. Another big run by Oneonta saw them increase their lead to 17-7, and they later held a 22-8 lead. Hanceville went on a mini run to cut into the deficit, as back-to-back aces from Clements made it a 22-11 game. They wouldn’t get any closer after that, though, as the Lady Redskins would go on to take the second set, 25-12.
A point by Sterling, followed by an ace from Charity Barnes, gave Hanceville an early 3-1 lead in the third set, but Oneonta scored four straight points to take a 5-3 lead. They would later push their lead to 10-5, but a pair of points by Barnes made it a 10-8 game. Later on, an ace from Stallings cut it to 13-10, but Oneonta went on yet another big run, scoring nine of the next 10 points, to widen their lead to 22-11. Hanceville looked for another late run to get back in the game; they scored four straight points, including an ace from Barnes, to make it a 22-15 game. Oneonta, though, put a stop to their run in a hurry, as they ended up collecting a 25-16 win in the third set.
Good Hope 3 – Oneonta 0 (Area Championship)
Good Hope got off to a strong start in the first set, as a kill by Emma Bailey, an ace from Charly Johnson, and a pair of points by Ivey Maddox, gave them a 6-3 lead. They later pushed it to 10-5, and later on, to 13-7 on an ace from Bailey. Oneonta, though, went on a little run to help cut it to 15-11, but led by a pair of aces from Carley Adams, the Lady Raiders pushed their lead to 20-11. The Lady Redskins cut it to 22-15 later in the set, but Good Hope made sure that they wouldn’t get any closer after that, as a point by Johnson, and the set-winning ace from Campbell Koch, helped them seal the 25-15 win in the first set.
It was tight early on in the second set, but Good Hope broke a 3-3 tie with five straight points, which included a kill by Maddox, another ace from Adams, and back-to-back points by Molly Benefield, to take an 8-3 lead. Oneonta trimmed it to 9-6, but points by Johnson and Jolee McHan, plus an ace from Makenzie Cruce, gave the Lady Raiders a 13-6 lead. They later widened it to 16-7 on an ace from Koch. They continued to add onto their lead, as back-to-back aces from Bailey, and points by Maddox and Johnson helped Good Hope increase their lead to 24-8. Maddox delivered the set-winning kill to help give the Lady Raiders a 25-9 win in the second set.
The third set was a tight one throughout. Good Hope broke a 2-2 tie with three straight points, including points by Maddox and McHan, to give them a 5-2 lead. Oneonta would come back to take a 7-6 lead. They later made it 9-7, but the Lady Raiders regained the lead right back, as a pair of aces from Bailey, and a kill by Johnson, gave them a 12-9 lead. The Lady Redskins, though, would get the lead right back at 16-13, but Good Hope tied it up at 16. The Lady Redskins would later take an 18-16 lead, but the Lady Raiders got points from Koch and McHan, and an ace from Maddox, as that gave them a 21-18 lead. Oneonta cut it to 21-20, but Good Hope finished the set strong, as Maddox started things off with a kill, then Johnson followed that up with a block point to make it 23-20. It was Cruce that would collect the final two points of the game, as her game-winning ace helped the Lady Raiders seal the 25-20 win and the area championship.
Ivey Maddox, Charly Johnson, Campbell Koch, and Makenzie Cruce got All-Area for Good Hope, while Kate Sterling and Charity Barnes got it for Hanceville. Johnson got MVP for the area tournament.
Good Hope will be heading to the Super Regional tournament at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville next week.
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