October 22, 2021
By East Alabama Sports Today
Donoho won the Class 1A North Super Regional for the second year in a row after sweeping Lindsay Lane and Ragland in Friday’s Elite 8 seeding round.
HUNTSVILLE – Donoho is headed to volleyball’s Elite Eight for the third year in a row and second straight as a No. 1 seed after defeating area rival Ragland 3-0 in the Class 1A North Super Regional title match Friday at the VonBraun Center.
The Lady Falcons (49-9) will play Kinston Wednesday at 9 a.m. in the Birmingham Crossplex. Ragland gets Woodland.
Lindsay Lane, Marion County, South champion Bayshore Christian and Sweet Water complete the Class 1A bracket.
“It’s always good to see the girls compete and have a good time,” Donoho coach Jamie Clendenin said. “It’s always exciting to go and win at a big place with a lot of energy in the building. Winning in that environment is always a plus.”
The Lady Falcons played some of their best volleyball of the season in their two days here, or maybe it just looked that way after a pedestrian final two weeks of the regular season.
On Friday, they tore out to a 15-1 lead over Lindsay Lane on the way to a 25-10, 25-12, 25-16 win in the semifinals before sweeping Ragland 25-12, 25-13, 25-21. They won their four matches here without dropping a set.
The final set against Ragland was the only one in the four matches they allowed more than 16 points, and that’s because they didn’t take advantage of a rotation they had gotten the best of in the first two sets.
“I think we did a really good job of pushing through,” Clendenin said. “I feel like a lot of people are much more focused.”
The coach’s reward for such an overwhelming performance was a two-hour ride home in an empty bus. All the players checked out of the arena with their parents, leaving Clendenin to drive the bus all the way back down 431 alone.
But it gave him a chance to reflect on all that happened this week and what needs to be done going forward.
“The first thing I’ll do is reflect on all the things that went right and we did a lot of great things, then I’ll shift gears and think about what we can improve on,” he said. “Like most coaches, it’s great when you win, but you’ve got a bigger goal and (winning the regional) doesn’t pave your way to the finals. Unfortunately, I can’t watch video and drive or I’d do that.”
Donoho has played in the state championship match each of the last two years. Last year, as the North No. 1, they lost to Bayshore 3-1. The year before, as the North No. 3, they outlasted Westminster-Oak Mountain 3-2 for the state title.
CLASS 1A STATE TOURNAMENT
Wednesday, 9 a.m.
Birmingham Crossplex
Bayshore Christian vs. Marion County
Ragland vs. Woodland
Donoho vs. Kinston
Sweet Water vs. Lindsay Lane
Semifinals, 3 p.m.
Thursday, 10 a.m.
Bill Harris Arena
Championship Match
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