RHS volleyball season ends at area tournament
The 2018 Russellville varsity volleyball season came to an end Monday night as the Golden Tigers lost in the first round of the area tournament in Moulton.
RHS (13-28) took on West Point in the opening round of the Class 5A, Area 14 tourney, and the Warriors swept the match. Game scores were 13-25, 20-25 and 24-26, with a late rally by Russellville coming up just short in the last game.
West Point went on to play host team Lawrence County, and the Red Devils defeated West Point 3-2 for the area championship.
The Russellville squad under first-year head coach Whitney Glover had some ups and downs throughout the season when it came to wins and losses, but Glover said the future looks bright for RHS volleyball.
“These girls could have quit because they’ve been with a coach for several years, and they stuck it out with me,” Glover said. “Everything was new – they weren’t used to somebody making them run, making them work hard and making them fix everything they did wrong. They still made mistakes, but they always responded with ‘yes ma’am,’ and they worked hard.
“I hate that it’s over for them, but I’ve watched them over the years, and I think that’s probably the best that they’ve been in several years. I’m really pleased with how far they’ve come, and I’m ready for next season to start.”
Oct. 16, RHS celebrated senior night with a match against Winfield. Four Golden Tigers were honored, as Kaitleen Arzola, Briley Gillespie, Josie Willis and Brooklyn Wells all played their final home match in a Russellville uniform.
The RHS girls swept Winfield by scores of 25-22, 25-11 and 25-15. Arzola had 11 kills, eight blocks, 13 digs and two aces. Gillespie helped out with two kills, six blocks and two digs, while Willis added nine assists. Treyvia Pruitt had four kills and 15 digs, while Briana Ramirez pitched in with 25 digs. Alivia Clemmons added four kills, 16 digs and four aces, while Lexie Glass had four kills and seven blocks and Krista Sikes had 11 assists and two aces.
Central-Florence was the site for a quad-match Oct. 18. Russellville defeated West Morgan (2-1) and Hatton (2-0) but lost to Central (1-2).
Oct. 20, RHS participated in the Pre-Area Tourney hosted by Lawrence County. A large number of schools were on hand for the play-off tune-up, and the Lady Golden Tigers won one match and dropped three in the event. RHS defeated East Lawrence 2-0 and fell to Deshler, Brewer and Fairview.
