VINEMONT, Ala. – The Vinemont Lady Eagles hosted the Class 3A, Area 11 tournament Wednesday night and they swept both Hanceville and Holly Pond to claim the area championship. Hanceville knocked off J.B. Pennington in four sets (25-21, 25-8, 18-25, 25-20). The Lady Eagles swept the Lady Bulldogs, then Holly Pond got past Locust Fork in a thrilling four-set match. Vinemont finished off Holly Pond in three sets to win the championship. The Lady Eagles and the Lady Broncos will move on to the state playoffs next week.
Vinemont 3 – Hanceville 0 (25-13, 25-23, 25-17)
Vinemont jumped out to a quick 8-1 lead in the first set. They pushed their lead to 14-7 later in the set, but Hanceville trimmed it to 15-10. The Lady Eagles, though, scored the next seven points to take a 22-10 lead, and they would go on to win the first set, 25-13.
The second set was tightly contested throughout. Vinemont grabbed an early 4-1 lead, but the Lady Bulldogs scored the next five points to take a 6-4 lead. Both teams traded mini-runs and points for most of the set. The Lady Eagles later held a 16-13 lead, but four straight points by Hanceville saw them get the lead right back at 17-16. The Lady Bulldogs held a 22-20 lead late in the set, but Vinemont closed it out strong, going on a 5-1 run to help seal the 25-23 win.
Both teams were tied at three early in the third set. Hanceville, however, scored the next three points to grab a 6-3 lead, and held the lead for the first part of the third set. The Lady Bulldogs held a slim 13-11 lead, but three straight points by the Lady Eagles gave them a 14-13 lead. After Hanceville tied it up at 14, Vinemont went on an 8-0 run to take a 22-14 lead, and they finished off their sweep of Hanceville, 25-17, to move on to the area tournament finals.
Holly Pond 3 – Locust Fork 1 (17-25, 26-24, 27-25, 26-24)
The first set saw Locust Fork get out to a quick 8-3 lead. Holly Pond cut it to three multiple times (12-9 and 14-11). Locust Fork, however, kept them at arm’s length the rest of the way, as six straight points pushed their lead to 20-11, and they would go on to win the first set, 25-17.
The second set, though, went a lot different than the first one. There were numerous lead changes throughout the set. The Lady Hornets held a 7-5 lead, but Holly Pond responded with six in a row to get the lead right back at 11-7. A late rally by Locust Fork helped them tie the game up at 14, and they ended up taking a 24-20 lead, needing just one point to go up 2-0 on the Lady Broncos. Holly Pond, however, failed to cooperate, as they scored the final six points to grab the 26-24 come-from-behind victory to tie it up at one.
The third set saw Holly Pond jump out to a 5-2 lead, but Locust Fork went on a run of their own to take an 8-7 lead. After that, both teams ended up trading runs and leads, with neither team taking more than a five-point lead. After the Lady Broncos took a 14-10 lead, a huge 9-0 run by the Lady Hornets gave them the lead right back at 19-14. Holly Pond cut it to 20-19 and would later tie things up at 23. For the second straight set, the Lady Broncos went on a late run, as they scored the final three points to take the third set, 27-25.
Locust Fork got out to an early 7-2 lead in the fourth set and kept at least a three-or four-point lead for the first part of the final set. Holly Pond cut it to 10-9, but the Lady Hornets quickly made it a 16-12 game. The Lady Broncos tied things up at 16 and would later grab their first lead of the set at 20-19. Locust Fork, though, went on a little run to get the lead right back at 23-21. Once again, Holly Pond finished out a set strong, as three straight points helped them seal the 26-24 win, and that earned them a spot in the championship game against Vinemont.
Vinemont 3 – Holly Pond 0 (25-12, 25-15, 25-19) (Area Tournament Finals)
Vinemont jumped out to a 5-2 lead early in the first set, and quickly pushed their lead to 9-4. The Lady Eagles stretched their lead to 13-6, but a little run by Holly Pond cut it to 13-9. Vinemont took over after that, though, going on a 9-0 run to push their lead to 22-9, and they would go on to take the first set, 25-12.
The second set started out close, as the Lady Broncos held an early 3-1 lead. Later in the set, though, the Lady Eagles scored six in a row to take a 10-5 lead and later made it a 12-6 game. The Lady Broncos, however, went on a run of their own, as they cut the deficit to just one at 12-11. Vinemont responded by scoring six straight points to increase their lead to 18-11 and later held a 21-13 lead. The Lady Eagles would defeat Holly Pond, 25-15, to go up 2-0 in the series.
Just like the second set, the Lady Broncos held a 3-1 lead early in the third set. Vinemont, though, went on another run to take a 7-3 lead and would later push their lead to 13-5. Holly Pond, however, would not go down without a fight, as a mini 4-1 run cut it to 14-9. A late run by the Lady Eagles gave them a 21-14 lead, but the Lady Broncos went on one last run to get back into the game. A 5-2 run by Holly Pond made it a 23-19 game. The Lady Eagles finished out the tournament in style, as they collected the final two points to help seal the 25-19 win and the area title.
Holly Pond’s Sadie Nail, Blakely Baggett, and Ava Olinger All-Area along with Vinemont’s Morgan Flanagan, Caroline Miller, and Reagan Robinson earned All-Area honors and Vinemont’s Carley Stephens was named tournament MVP of the area tournament.
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