Bob Jones, Madison Academy hosting area tournaments this week
Bob Jones to host Class 7A, Area 8 tournament on Wednesday. Madison Academy will host 4A, Area15 on Thursday.
MADISON – The long, sometimes difficult grind of a regular season is over for state volleyball teams. Now comes what those squads hope will be the payoff as the Alabama High School Athletic Association postseason begins.
Wednesday’s Class 7A, Area 8 tournament action at host Bob Jones begins with Florence (4-30) vs. Sparkman (10-24) at 1:30 p.m. The winner of that match plays the Lady Patriots (45-9) at 3, followed by James Clemens (24-20) against Austin (24-11) at 4:30 in the second semifinal. The championship match is set for 6 p.m.
Area tournaments are single elimination. Matches are 3-out-of-5 with both the winner and runner-up advancing to super regionals Oct. 23-25.
The North Super Regional, previously played at Huntsville’s Von Braun Center, was moved to Hoover’s Finley Center when contract details couldn’t be worked out between the Von Braun Center and the AHSAA.
If Bob Jones, ranked No. 2 in the final Alabama Sports Writers Association rankings, advances the Lady Patriots will now travel instead of playing at the VBC as they have en route to two straight runner-up finishes at the state tournament in 2022 and 2023.
“It doesn’t really change how we prepare,’’ Bob Jones head coach Jenny Jarrett said.
The Lady Patriots are accustomed to the road. They’ve played in the Birmingham area for tournaments and regular season matches, and have played in Florida, Georgia and Kentucky tournaments this season.
Meanwhile, Madison Academy will host 4A, Area15 Thursday. The Lady Mustangs (19-18) take on Randolph (3-18) in the opener at 10 a.m., followed by West Limestone (14-14) vs. St. John Paul II (18-6) at 11:30. The championship match is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
Bob Jones is coming off a loss at home in its regular-season finale, falling in five sets to Hazel Green 20-25, 25-20, 20-25, 25-18, 15-7. The Lady Trojans are ranked No. 4 in 6A, one of the many highly rated squads the Patriots took on this season.
“We were disappointed to lose that, you know, no senior wants to lose on senior night, and it was a hard-fought game,” Jarrett said. “It went five, but didn’t go our way. I always learn a lot from losses, sometimes more than when you win. We watched the film and tried to fix what we think we did wrong and bounce back.’’
The state tournament is Oct. 29-31 at the Birmingham CrossPlex’s Harris Arena.
*Records for each team were taken from Maxpreps.com.
