REGIONAL VOLLEYBALL RECAP: PCA cruises into second day; LAMP, Pike Road eliminated
PCA has bigger ideas than just a berth in state tourney after two wins on Wednesday. (Tim Gayle)
BY TIM GAYLE
Prattville Christian Academy breezed through the first day of the 4A South Super Regional, sweeping past Opp and Indian Springs to qualify for next week’s state tournament in Birmingham. But after reaching the state tournament in each of their last four super regional appearances, qualifying is no longer the only objective for the Panthers.
“Our goal is to roll through here with four wins,” PCA coach Kaylon Cantrell said, “so we’re two wins into that. Our goal is to take two more (on Thursday) and to come out of the South as the number one seed.”
PCA has only reached the championship match of the super regional once, losing to St. Luke’s in 2022. On Thursday, the Panthers will play St. Michael in a semifinal match and advance to either the championship or the consolation round later in the afternoon against either Straughn or Orange Beach.
On Wednesday, the Panthers made quick work with their opponents, sweeping Opp 25-9, 25-13 and 25-5 and Indian Springs 25-10, 25-10 and 25-14.
“We still had to show up and play to win the games today,” Cantrell said, “but I think (Thursday) will be a little different, a little more of a test for us.”
For the Panthers (40-14), Baylee Rogers had 49 assists, 11 aces, a kill and 12 digs, Emma Cate Carter had 15 kills and six digs, Maren Diefenderfer had 17 kills, two aces and seven blocks and Jenna McClendon had 14 kills and six blocks.
Leah Cate Wilson had seven kills and a block, Olivia Rossi had five kills and a dig, Paysley Bayer had two kills, a block and five digs, Anniston Robison had two kills and a dig, Natalee Wheeler had three aces, 14 digs and seven assists, Morgan Fowler had eight aces, five digs and an assist, Aiden Williams had two aces and two digs and Brylee Byrd had eight digs.
“I thought we hit the ball really well,” Cantrell said. “I thought several of our girls hit the ball well -- Emma Cate, Maren, Jenna. We had several girls that were hitting the ball really well. Our defense did their job, too, getting the ball to our setter, the setter did her job. It really was a team effort.”
Wheeler recorded her 1,000th varsity career dig in the win over Indian Springs.
PIke Road falters in second round to end season
Pike Road won its opening game in the South Super Regional, but the Patriots couldn’t get past the second round, ending their season at 23-10.
First-year coach Julianne Mathews guided the Patriots to their fifth consecutive postseason, but after beating Brookwood in the opening round, Pike Road fell to Chelsea in the second round.
“We turned it on a little late in the match, but ultimately they (Pike Road players) fought hard at the end and that’s all I could ask for,” Mathews said. “It was just a little too late.
“Chelsea’s a great team. They didn’t make many mistakes at all. They were just the better team in our match.”
Chelsea (34-13) qualified for next week’s state tournament with the win, along with Pelham, Gulf Shores and Spanish Fort in Class 6A. Chelsea will Spanish Fort in the regional semifinals on Thursday and will play later in the afternoon in either the championship or consolation round.
Pike Road defeated Brookwood 25-14, 25-19 and 25-9 in the opening round. Kat Wilson had eight kills, a dig and two aces, Jada Gresham had five kills, two blocks, two digs and two aces, Izzy Wright had five kills, a block and three digs, Brely Dees had 22 digs, an assist and an ace and Bailey Dees had three kills, three digs, 12 assists and an ace.
Wilson, Gresham and Brely Dees are among the six seniors on the team, along with Abigail Jackson, Angel Brown and Tai Rogers as Mathews will have to replace some valuable experience as she starts work on next year’s team.
“We lost six seniors, so it’s going to be hard, but we have some good kids coming up in our program,” Mathews said. “I’m proud of them and who they are as people. The things they can control they controlled -- their attitude, their mentality, how they treated each other as teammates.”
The Patriots have never qualified for the state tournament since moving to Class 6A three years ago, something that will be a goal in 2025.
“The goal next year is to make it one step further,” Mathews said. “The seniors did a good job leading this program, setting the standard. It’s been a good program for many years, so that level of excellence we’re just trying to build on and make it one step further.”
LAMP ends season
After reaching the state tournament a year ago, LAMP coach Mark Eubanks was hoping his Golden Tigers could find the magic again, but a hot Straughn team eliminated LAMP from the South Super Regional, sweeping the Golden Tigers 25-15, 25-13 and 25-21 on Wednesday at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl.
“I think nerves kicked in and it had us a little rattled early on,” Eubanks said. “The third set, when we got everything together, we started competing with them. Still, at crucial moments, we didn’t trust ourselves and trust things they had been doing their whole lives -- and that’s playing volleyball.”
LAMP finished the season at 12-20. Straughn (29-8) swept Pleasant Grove in the second round to qualify for the upcoming state tournament and will face Orange Beach on Thursday in a battle for seeding in next week’s tournament in Birmingham.
Eubanks, meanwhile, was pleased the Golden Tigers qualified for the super regional for the sixth consecutive year after failing to make the playoffs in the first 18 years of the program’s existence at the Montgomery magnet school.
“We’ve had several injuries this year and one of our players recently came back (from injury),” he said. “We battled injuries throughout the year and one of the biggest things that we struggled with is just the rigors of academics. It’s tough. What they deal with throughout the school day, no other kid in the state of Alabama goes through. No other kid has an academic load to the extent of theirs.
“They come and play and produce and give their all on the court. As a coach, you can’t do anything more than be thankful.”
Eubanks must replace seniors Kaylei Mixon, Emory Owen and Ana Clark, but returns most of his team next season.
“We lose a lot of experience,” he said. “All three of them made it to the state tournament last year. But I’m always optimistic. In the offseason, if they put the work in, I think what they lack in experience, they can bring along in skill.”