BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – This year’s AHSAA State Volleyball Tournament resumed at the Birmingham Crossplex Wednesday morning, and we had three local teams on the court competing for a chance to play in the state finals. In Class 1A, the Addison Bulldogs swept past Brantley to advance to the semifinals and in Class 5A, Arab downed Demopolis 3-0 to punch its ticket to the semifinals. West Point was on the court competing in the 5A quarterfinals as well but fell to UMS-Wright 3-0, bringing the Warriors’ postseason run to an end.
Addison and Arab were back on the court for their respective semifinal matches Wednesday afternoon. Another impressive Addison season came to an end with a 3-1 loss to University Charter 3-1 in the 1A semifinals and in the 5A semifinals, Arab fall behind 2-0 and rallied to force a tiebreaker set with Faith Academy. However, the Rams edged the Knights 15-13 in the final set to take a thriller over Arab 3-2.
Addison 3 – Brantley 0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-8) (1A Quarterfinals)
Addison made its return to the 1A state tournament Wednesday morning and the Bulldogs got their day started with a dominant performance against Brantely. The score was locked at 6 early in the first set but it didn’t take long for Addison to take control. Addison pulled ahead 15-9 midway through the set and outscored Brantley 10-5 the rest of the way to take the first set 25-14.
Addison jumped out to a 5-0 lead to start the second set, but Brantley was able to cut the deficit to 9-4. An 8-5 scoring run gave Addison a 17-9 lead later in the set and they were able to eventually pull away and claim a 25-13 win in the second set.
The third set was a dominant one for Addison. After taking a 4-2 lead early on, Addison scored the next 12 points to take a commanding, 16-2 lead. Addison stayed in front 20-4 as the set continued and went on to complete the sweep with a 25-8 win in the third set.
University Charter 3 – Addison 1 (18-25, 18-25, 25-23, 23-25) (1A Semifinals)
The Trail Blazers managed to pull ahead of Addison 18-12 in the late stages of the opening set. Trailing 22-13, the Bulldogs scored five straight to cut into the lead but it was too little, too late and University Charter won the first set 25-18.
The Trail Blazers jumped out to a 7-4 lead early in the second set and were able to stay in front 11-4 as the set went on. University Charter held a 16-10 lead midway through the set and pulled away to win it 25-18, taking a 2-0 lead over the Bulldogs in the match.
Addison responded in the third set. Neither team led by more than two at any point in the set and after claiming a late, 23-21 lead, the Bulldogs were able to hold onto a 25-23 win to take the third set.
The Trail Blazers got off to a fast start in the fourth set, building an early 6-0 lead over Addison. University Charter led by as many as nine at one point in the set, but the Bulldogs would not go down quietly, battling back to make it 15-11 and eventually tying things up at 20. However, Addison was unable to complete the comeback and the Trail Blazers secured a spot in the state finals with a 25-23 win in the fourth set.
Arab 3 – Demopolis 0 (25-15, 25-6, 25-14) (5A Quarterfinals)
The Knights built a 13-5 lead early in the opening set, but Demopolis battled back to cut the lead to 14-10 midway through the set. However, Arab scored 11 of the next 16 points to pull away and take the first set 25-15.
The Knights dominated the second set, jumping out to an early, 9-3 lead that grew to 12-4 as the set went on. Arab led 19-5 at one point and finished strong to claim a 25-6 win in the second set.
The third set was tighter in the early stages. The score was knotted at 3 early on and the Knights held a slim, 7-5 lead as the set progressed. A 4-1 run put Arab in front 11-6 midway through the set and was able to stay in front 16-11. That’s when the Knights took over and put together a 9-3 scoring run to wrap up a 25-14 win in the third set and secure a spot in the 5A semifinals.
Faith Academy 3 – Arab 2 (18-25, 22-25, 25-13, 25-15, 13-15) (5A State Semifinals)
The Knights held the lead to just a few points throughout their first set with the Rams, but Faith Academy was able to pull ahead 18-12 as the set went on. The Rams extended their lead to 21-13 and held off a late push from the Knights to secure a 25-18 win in the opening set.
Faith Academy jumped out to a 7-0 lead to start the second set, but Arab battled back to cut the deficit to 9-4 and eventually tied things up at 12. The Knights took their first lead of the set at 14-13 but a 6-2 scoring run put the Rams back in front 19-16. Faith Academy led 22-17 at one point before Arab rallied to cut the lead to 22-21 but it wasn’t enough to catch up to the Rams and Faith Academy moved ahead 2-0 with a 25-22 win in the set.
The score was knotted at 5 early in the third set but Arab quickly pulled ahead to take the lead and never gave it back. The Knights put together a 9-0 scoring run to build a 17-7 lead later in the set and kept their championship hopes alive with a 25-13 win.
Arab’s momentum continued rolling into the next set and the Knights jumped out to a 9-4 lead. Arab led 17-11 at one point and evened the match up at two sets apiece with a 25-15 win in the fourth set.
The fifth and final set was the closest between these two teams. Arab got off to a 4-1 start, but Faith Academy bounced back to tie the score at 5. The Rams pulled ahead 9-6 before the Knights rallied to tie things up at 11 later in the set. With the score tied at 13, Arab needed just two more points to advance to the state finals but Faith Academy was able to put the points on the board first to win the set and take a thriller over the Knights 3-2.
UMS Wright 3 – West Point 0 (11-25, 12-25, 15-25) (5A Quarterfinals)
The Warriors fell behind 4-2 early in the first set and UMS-Wright was able to pull ahead with an 8-3 lead as the set went on. The Bulldogs led 18-7 at one point later in the set and would eventually go on to take the opening set 25-11.
UMS-Wright jumped out to another early lead in the second set, moving out in front of the Warriors 11-4. A 7-4 scoring run from the Bulldogs made it 18-8 and they continued to pull away to claim a 25-12 win in the second set.
West Point battled back in the third set. After falling behind early, the Warriors rallied to trim the lead to 15-12 at one point but UMS-Wright responded with a 7-1 run to take a 20-13 lead and went on to win third set 25-15, eliminating West Point from this year’s 5A State Tournament.
Copyright 2024 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
