Bob Jones advances to regional championship today; secures return trip to state tournament
The Lady Patriots, who finished as 7A runner-up to McGill-Toolen the past two seasons, defeated Oak Mountain 3-0 and Huntsville 3-1 on Wednesday to advance to the title match.
HOOVER – Bob Jones’ march toward another Elite Eight trip stayed on path Wednesday as the Lady Patriots won two matches Wednesday over Oak Mountain and Huntsville, advancing to the Class 7A finals in the North Regional Tournament.
The top four finishers in each classification advance to join four more from the South Regional Tournament in an eight-team bracket for the state championships at the Birmingham-Crossplex Oct. 29-31. Bob Jones punched their ticket to the state tournament yesterday as one of the top four teams in the regional competition.
Today at 4 p.m., Bob Jones (49-9) clashes with Hoover (39-9) for the championship at the Finley Center. At the same time, Huntsville (32-8) faces Vestavia Hills (27-13) in the consolation match.
The Lady Patriots, who finished as 7A runner-up to McGill-Toolen the past two seasons, defeated Oak Mountain 3-0 and Huntsville 3-1 to advance to the title match.
“The girls came in very focused and really took control of the Oak Mountain game from the start,” Bob Jones head coach Jenny Jarrett said. “I was very proud of the way they continued to control the game to be sure that this was not their last day of volleyball for the season.
“We played a very tough game with Huntsville. We took control of the first set and won pretty big. However, Huntsville showed a lot of fight and grit, and the rest was a hard-fought match. I thought the girls showed a lot of resilience bouncing back after losing the third set.’’
Bob Jones statistical leaders Wednesday: Kennedy Vaughn 28 kills, six aces, 13 digs, two blocks; Riley Lovell 76 assists, 23 digs, six kills, three aces; Kali Beigh 44 digs, 10 assists, three aces; Mya Lacey 19 kills, two assists, three blocks, five digs; Anabelle Arnold 17 kills; Kendall Buckley 16 kills; and Taryn Blume 11 kills.
Meanwhile, 4A Madison Academy entered the day with designs on making a run at its first state championship since 2016. But, following a 3-0 sweep over Hamilton in the first round the Lady Mustangs’ season ended with a 3-1 loss to Alexandria in the quarterfinals.
Madison Academy (24-19) opened with a 3-0 win over Hamilton, then fell to Alexandria 3-1. The Valley Cubs improved to 40-13 and will play Plainview (29-22) today at 1:30, when Madison County (36-12) faces Cherokee County (42-13) in the other semifinal.
For more results and schedules, visit www.ahsaa.com.
