By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
WEAVER – If the Alexandria volleyball team continues to play like it did in the semifinals of the Calhoun County Tournament Saturday, coach Whitney Welch might want to consider holding a few more pre-dawn practices on the road to the state tournament.
The Lady Cubs won several matches in the run-up to the tournament and clinched the No. 1 seed in their upcoming area tournament, but they didn’t necessarily play to the standard Welch has set for them.
So, to get their attention, she scheduled a 5:30 a.m. practice Wednesday morning.
It got the point across. The second-seeded Lady Cubs played one of their most dominant matches of the season, swamping third-seeded Jacksonville 3-0 that included an eye-popping 25-6 win in the second set to punch their ticket to the championship match that got away from them last year (at the hands of Jacksonville).
The Lady Cubs (29-10) will play top-seeded Donoho in Monday’s 7:30 p.m. title match at Jacksonville State. The Lady Falcons bounced back from dropping the first set to turn back fourth-seeded Pleasant Valley 3-1 at Alexandria.
The event was staged at two different venues for social distancing reasons and had the school that plays in those gyms going to the other venue to avoid any home-court advantage.
Odd-hour practices while rare aren’t uncommon for the Lady Cubs. Welch has worked her team after returning from frustrating matches to get its attention before. They even had a 5 a.m. workout in September after Welch gave them a choice of going at 5 a.m. or 5 p.m.
This one, however, was not up for debate.
“We lost some games we definitely should have won and because we didn’t do what we were supposed to do at a high level, so we worked really hard this week,” Welch said. “They needed it and I was aware it could plunge us or help us and I really felt like they responded well to it.
“Our girls are hard workers and I thought they would respond to it. I just know they’re better than what we’ve been playing here and there, and they responded. If we can stay right here we can really get some things done.”
The energy was there Saturday, especially in the second set. They put together a string of nine straight points to take control of the first set (25-15), absolutely dominated the second set and pulled away in the third (25-19) with five straight points after the Lady Golden Eagles took a 14-13 lead.
“As a team we played a lot better,” hitter Lexi Weber said. “We minimized our errors, passed better and brought a lot more energy. This past week was a little bit of a rough week for us and we had to redo some things and figure some things out, so we kind of brought it back in.”
“We just didn’t give up,” setter Crossley Sparks said. “We stayed on high energy the whole game.”
“When we’re like that, we’ve had some big wins against some 6As and 7As, and we can really play like that,” Welch said. “Sometimes we don’t so I hope this is where we stay because we controlled the ball the whole game, assed really well, didn’t beat ourselves. When we stay in system and pass and touch balls off the bump we can play.”
Donoho, meanwhile, checked off another box on the list of items this senior class has yet to accomplish. The Lady Falcons last played in the county tournament finals in 2013. They last won it in 2012.
Donoho, meanwhile, checked off another box on the list of items this senior class has yet to accomplish. The Lady Falcons last played in the county tournament finals in 2013. They last won it in 2012.
They lost to first set to PV 25-21, then swept to the finish 25-13, 25-19, 25-22. Senior standout Maggie Wakefield fell hard on her hip during the initial points of the first set, but played through it. It’s uncomfortable, but she’s confident in her availability for the final.
The Lady Falcons (41-7) are now 15-0 against in-county competition this season.
By making to the championship game, the Lady Falcons believe they’ve struck a blow for the little guy. Since the last time Donoho played in the county finals, only one team smaller than 3A (Faith Christian 2018) has played for the championship.
“For some us, this is statement to our county that says do not discount 1A schools,” Wakefield said. “We are here. We may be small, but we are competitive. It took us 10 years to find that competitiveness again, but we’re here now and we’re ready.”
SEMIFINALS MATCHES
Alexandria 3, Jacksonville 0
KILLS – Alexandria: Kailey Dickerson 14, Kandyn Blankenship 3, Blakeley Mobbs 3, Lexi Weber 18, Crossley Sparks 1, Brie Troup 3. Jacksonville: Caitlin Clark 4, Aly Harris 7, Chloe Fuller 1, Camryn Stone 3, Jules Grass 1.
ASSISTS – Alexandria: Crossley Sparks 32, Devan White 1, Brie Troup 1. Jacksonville: Molly Wilson 13, Aly Harris 1, Tori Moses 1.
ACES – Alexandria: Blakeley Mobbs 2, Lexi Weber 1, Crossley Sparks 3, Devan White 1, Ava Johnson 1. Jacksonville: Molly Wilson 2, Caitlin Clark 2, Tori Moses 1.
DIGS – Alexandria: Kailey Dickerson 6, Kandyn Blankenship 8, Blakeley Mobbs 3, Lexi Weber 4, Crossley Sparks 6, Devan White 6, Ava Johnson 4, Brie Troup 1. Jacksonville: Molly Wilson 10, Abby Wilczek 3, Katelyn Downing 9, Aly Harris 2, Chloe Fuller 10, Camryn Stone 3, Tori Moses 15, Natalie Patterson 1.
BLOCKS – Alexandria: Kailey Dickerson 1, Blakeley Mobbs 1, Lexi Weber 4, Crossley Sparks 2, Jacksonville: Aly Harris 1.
Donoho 3, Pleasant Valley 1
KILLS – Donoho: Sam Wakefield 1, Maggie Wakefield 11, Mercy Mangum 7, Mary Marshall Perry 6, Lily Grace Draper 27, Estella Connell 3. Pleasant Valley: Lily Henry 11, Rylee Haynes 14, Allie Bryant 9, Maddie Schwabe 2, Tori Turner 1.
ASSISTS – Donoho: Sam Wakefield 41, Maggie Wakefield 2, Mercy Mangum 1, Naira Rehman 3. Pleasant Valley: Rylee Haynes 18, Allie Bryant 14, Maddie Schwabe 1.
ACES – Donoho: Sam Wakefield 4, Mercy Mangum 1, Lily Grace Draper 3. Pleasant Valley: Rylee Haynes 2, Maddie Schwabe 2, Tori Turner 1.
DIGS – Donoho: Sam Wakefield 21, Maggie Wakefield 22, Mercy Mangum 5, Mary Marshall Perry 3, Lily Grace Draper 14, Estella Connell 1, Naira Rehman 9, Ayesha Siddiqua 3. Pleasant Valley: Lily Henry 18, Rylee Haynes 23, Allie Bryant 31, Maddie Schwabe 20, Madi Hay 18, Rebekah Gannaway 18.
BLOCKS – Donoho: Maggie Wakefield 4, Mary Marshall Perry 3. Pleasant Valley: Lily Henry 4, Rylee Haynes 1, Maddie Schwabe 2, Tori Turner 3, Rebecca Gannaway 3.
TOURNAMENT TOTALS
DONOHO (Two match totals)
KILLS – Sam Wakefield 2, Maggie Wakefield 23, Mercy Mangum 10, Mary Marshall Perry 12, Lily Grace Draper 24, Estella Connell 3
ASSISTS – Sam Wakefield 65, Maggie Wakefield 2, Mercy Man gum 1, Naira Rehman 4.
ACES – Sam Wakefield 6, Maggie Wakefield 3, Mercy Mangum 3, Mary Marshall Perry 3, Lily Grace Draper 9, Naira Rehman 1.
5, Lily Grace Draper 17, Estella Connell 1, Naira Rehman 17, Ayesha Siddiqua 6.
BLOCKS – Maggie Wakefield 6, Mary Marshall Perry 5, Estella Connell 3.
ALEXANDRIA (Two match totals)
KILLS – Alexandria: Kailey Dickerson 22, Kandyn Blankenship 11, Blakeley Mobbs 8, Lexi Weber 28, Crossley Sparks 2, Brie Troup 8.
ASSISTS – Alexandria: Crossley Sparks 62, Devan White 2, Brie Troup 1, Christian Hess 2.
ACES – Alexandria: Kailey Dickerson 2, Blakeley Mobbs 4, Lexi Weber 2, Crossley Sparks 5, Devan White 1, Ava Johnson 1.
DIGS – Alexandria: Kailey Dickerson 14, Kandyn Blankenship 12, Blakeley Mobbs 6, Lexi Weber 9, Crossley Sparks 4, Devan White 16, Ava Johnson 9, Brie Troup 2.
BLOCKS – Alexandria: Kailey Dickerson 1, Blakeley Mobbs 1, Lexi Weber 6, Crossley Sparks 3, Brie Troup 1.
JACKSONVILLE (Two match totals)
KILLS – Molly Wilson 7, Caitlin Clark 10, Aly Harris 22, Chloe Fuller 4, Camryn Stone 5, Jules Grass 2, Natalie Patterson 4, Elizabeth Kadle 1.
ASSISTS – Molly Wilson 34, Caitlin Clark 3, Aly Harris 3, Tori Moses 2, Natalie Patterson 1.
ACES – Molly Wilson 6, Caitlin Clark 6, Tori Moses 7, Aly Harris 5, Chloe Fuller 1, Natalie Patterson 1.
DIGS – Molly Wilson 15, Abby Wilczek 13, Caitlin Clark 22, Aly Harris 14, Chloe Fuller 12, Camryn Stone 4, Tori Moses 30, Natalie Patterson 1.
BLOCKS – Molly Wilson 2, Aly Harris 3, Camryn Stone 1, Jules Grass 6.
OXFORD (Two match totals)
KILLS – Kara King 8, Adrionna Foster 4, Abbie Mitchell 16, Daelyn Bozeman 7, Mileah Prince 5, Shay Montgomery 5.
ASSISTS – Ashlyn Burns 14, Adrionna Foster 18.
ACES – Cohlee Boone 9.
DIGS – Kara King 2, Ashlyn Burn 14, Cohlee Boone 10, Adrionna Foster 12, Ashley Paulson 15, Abbie Mitchell 16.BLOCKS – Shay Montgomery 8.
PLEASANT VALLEY (Two match totals)
KILLS – Lily Henry 22, Rylee Haynes 37, Allie Bryant 19, Maddie Schwabe 5, Tori Turner 2, Rebekah Gannaway 1.
ASSISTS – Rylee Haynes 34, Allie Bryant 37, Maddie Schwabe 1, Tori Turner 1.
ACES – Lily Henry 1, Rylee Haynes 4, Allie Bryant 4, Maddie Schwabe 6, Tori Turner 1.
DIGS – Lily Henry 35, Rylee Haynes 34, Allie Bryant 39, Maddie Schwabe 31, Tori Turner 2, Madi Hay 27, Rebekah Gannaway 37.
BLOCKS – Lily Henry 5, Rylee Haynes 2, Maddie Schwabe 2, Tori Turner 5, Rebecca Gannaway 6.
Sports Powered by East Alabama Sports Today.
