Local teams claim volleyball success
Sept. 17, RHS traveled to West Point for a tri-match versus the Lady Warriors and Cold Springs. Russellville handed 2A Cold Springs their third loss of the season with a 2-0 sweep of the Eagles. RHS took the match by scores of 25-18 and 25-21.
Alivia Clemmons had two aces, three kills and 10 digs for Russellville in the victory. Chalea Clemmons added six kills and three blocks, and Krista Sikes had eight assists.
Leah Rushing helped out with seven assists and four digs, while Callie Palmer had four kills and two blocks. Briana Ramirez was solid on defense with 10 digs.
In the Class 5A, Area 14 matchup against West Point, RHS fell to the Lady Warriors by a 1-3 total. Game scores were 15-25, 25-22, 12-25 and 19-25.
Caroline Sparks had four aces, three kills and six digs for RHS. Chalea Clemmons picked up four kills and four blocks, while Sikes had 11 assists and six digs. Alivia Clemmons pitched in with seven digs, and Lexie Glass had six kills. Meanwhile, Ramirez had nine digs, and Palmer rounded out the stats with five kills.
Russellville returned home for a tri-match against Lawrence County and Haleyville Monday. The RHS ladies fell to 1-4 in area play with a sweep at the hands of LCHS. Scores in the matchup versus the Lady Devils were 18-25, 23-25 and 16-25.
The Lady Golden Tigers then faced Haleyville and dropped to 3-18 on the season with a 19-25, 25-16, 7-15 loss.
Head coach Whitney Glover is in her second season leading the RHS program, and she said her squad is looking to finish the regular season with good effort.
“We’ve really been working, practice-wise, to make sure that our level of effort is where it needs to be because sometimes I don’t feel like they’re giving me everything they could,” she said. “Tonight, it was there. They had great effort both games, Lawrence County and Haleyville. Against Haleyville, especially, we had way too many hitting errors and I think that kept us from finishing that game.”
Hatton wins Bulldog Classic
Belgreen hosted a 10-team, all-day volleyball extravaganza Saturday. The Hatton Hornets won the Community Spirit Bank Bulldog Classic.
“We had a successful tournament with some great competition,” said Belgreen coach Susie Tverberg. “I am thankful for Community Spirit Bank and all the volunteers who helped make this a special event.”
Belgreen and Cherokee advanced to the semifinals from Pool A. Hatton and Covenant Christian advanced to the semifinals from Pool B.
Hatton eliminated Belgreen in three sets in the semifinals. Covenant Christian eliminated Cherokee in three sets in the semifinals. Hatton emerged the winner, defeating Covenant Christians.
Belgreen had one other loss that came during pool play against Belmont. The Bulldogs had wins over Colbert County, Waterloo and Cherokee.
“I am proud of the fight my girls showed during the tournament,” said Tverberg. “They pushed themselves to get better as the day continued. When we have good passes that lead to good sets and successful kills, we can be competitive with the best teams.”
Against Cherokee, Autumn Bragwell had nine successful serves, 23 assists and nine digs. Ansley Tate had five kills and nine assists. Emma Dempsey had three aces and six kills.
In the Waterloo match, Emma Dempsey had 16 kills and four blocks. Bragwell had three aces and 23 assists. Gracie Dempsey had eight digs.
