THURSDAY PREPS: MA wins key volleyball game over Catholic; Lady Knights football wins over Opelika; Central football shuts out JAG

Montgomery Academy’s Elle McBride pushes a shot over the net in the Eagles’ win over Catholic on Thursday. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE
It was a battle between two of the best volleyball teams in the state, one where nearly every point was contested. 

Thursday’s battle between Montgomery Academy and Catholic was a four-set war that rarely saw one team lead by more than three or four points.

The Eagles rebounded from losing the first set 25-21 by winning the next three, 25-21, 26-24 and 26-24 in the Catholic gym.

“Our girls were taken by surprise because Catholic played very well tonight,” Montgomery Academy coach Julie Gordon said. “It made my girls have to dig deep and find ways to score because the block was doing a good job. They’re good.”

Catholic’s front line, primarily Harper Howell, Zaria Rudolph and Kathryn Reardon, put up a solid resistance from the Eagles, who often had to get creative to score points. 

“They made the adjustments that they needed to make,” Catholic coach Jenn Denham said of her players. “Our block was really phenomenal. I’m setting our block and our defense wasn’t letting anything hit. We’re just really challenging ourselves as a team to do the little things to kind of take us to the next level of play.”

The Eagles took command of the second set early, then had to fight off a Catholic rally. But it was the third set, a rousing back-and-forth battle in which neither team could grab the upper hand until Montgomery Academy scored the final two points of the set, that seemed to swing the match toward the visitors. 

“Volleyball is definitely a game of momentum,” Denham said, “so to take that third set would have been a huge momentum swing. But I was proud of the girls. We were even down in that fourth set and they fought and made it a game until the very end.”

For the Knights, Joi McGuire had five kills and 18 digs, Mally Barranco had 30 digs, Zaria Rudolph had 10 kills, seven digs and 6.5 blocks, Kathryn Reardon had nine kills and nine digs, Maria Schwarz had four kills, five digs and 45 assists, Grace Levanda had six kills and 4.5 blocks and Harper Howell had 13 kills and four blocks. 

For the Eagles, each week seems to bring another milestone to the players, especially its trio of three-year starters. In early September, Elle McBride reached her 1,000th career kill and she was joined in the 1,000-point club a week later by teammate Caroline McDaniel. 

“I think they both motivate each other to do well,” Gordon said.

This week, the spotlight shifts to the third junior, setter Addi Vinson, who already has a school-record 2,994 career assists and will reach the 3,000-assist plateau this weekend in a tournament, one of only 25 Alabama High School Athletic Association players in the state to achieve that total.

Vinson moved ahead of Alabama Christian’s Blair Brendle (2,976 assists in 2001-03) in the process and now trails only St. James’ Katie Smith (3,381 in 2000-04) and St. James’ Emily Poundstone (3,038 in 2014-18) among Capital City Conference assist leaders.  

Vinson earned high praise from her Hall of Fame coach after Thursday’s victory.

“We did not play our best,” Gordon said. “For us, it’s like one person is off and everyone else steps up but tonight we had several people off. Our passes were off tonight, so the setter is at the net and the passes are going to the 12-foot line, so she had to come off and try to better that ball for the hitters. If the passes are off, it’s hard for her to do her job. (The hitters) are always having to make adjustments if the set is off, in, out and because of the (erratic) passes, Addi was doing the best she could do. But she’s the best setter in the state, there’s no doubt.” 

Catholic (20-6) returns to action next Tuesday against Trinity for a 4A Area 5 match at Captain Jack Court.

The Eagles (24-4) travel to Hoover on Friday and Saturday to participate in the seventh annual Heffstrong Tournament hosted by Spain Park. The 35-team tournament pits Montgomery Academy against McAdory on Friday at 6 p.m., followed by MA-Arab at 8 p.m. The Eagles will play Hoover on Saturday at 9 a.m., followed by MA-Sparkman at 11 a.m. Bracket play will follow on Saturday afternoon. 

Pike Road 2, Dothan 0

Pike Road 2, Auburn 1

PIKE ROAD -- Pike Road defeated the Wolves 25-11 and 25-6, then rebounded from a first-set loss to Auburn by defeating the Tigers 12-25, 25-22 and 15-9 to win a tri-match at home on Thursday. 

For the Patriots, Allie Lovrich had 10 kills, nine digs and a pair of aces, Jada Gresham had 10 kills and three blocks, Taylor Robinson had 15 kills and two digs, Rylie Fureigh had 23 assists, 11 digs and an ace and Caroline Davis had 25 assists, seven digs and two aces. Sydney Carr had nine kills, two blocks and two digs, Kat Wilson had seven kills, two digs and a block, Lola Gorman had nine digs and three aces, Marley Gorman had six kills and two digs and Brely Dees had five assists, 15 digs and an ace. 

Pike Road (26-5) will play host to Catholic next Thursday. 

Prattville Christian 3, Dadeville 0

Prattville Christian 3, Dadeville 0

PRATTVILLE -- The Panthers extended their winning streak to nine matches after defeating Dadeville in a 3A Area 6 doubleheader, sweeping the Tigers in six matches to improve to 4-0 in area play.

PCA won the first match 25-12, 25-2 and 25-9, then turned around and played the Tigers again, winning 25-4, 25-9 and 25-9 on Thursday afternoon in the PCA gym.

For the Panthers, Emma Cate Carter had 10 kills, 11 aces and a dig, Leah Cate Wilson had nine kills and an ace and Baylee Rogers had 21 assists, 12 aces and three digs. Natalee Wheeler had four aces and seven digs, Dakotah Zimbelman had a kill, Paysley Bayer had a pair of kills, six aces and a block, Aiden Williams had four aces and four digs, Jenna McClendon had six kills and a pair of blocks, Baileigh Seale had eight assists and five aces, Kyra Sims had six kills and a block, Maren Diefenderfer had four kills and an ace, Brylee Byrd had five aces and six digs and Peyton Woodfin had two kills and a dig.

PCA (18-9) will play host to Beulah on Tuesday and travel to Alabama Christian on Thursday to close out the 3A Area 6 schedule.

FLAG FOOTBALL

Catholic 19 Opelika 0

OPELIKA -- The Catholic defense intercepted five Bulldog passes, returning two of them for touchdowns, in a 19-0 win over Opelika at Bulldog Stadium on Thursday.

Catholic (4-0) has outscored its opponents 131-0 this season. 

Ann Cobb broke a scoreless tie when the senior returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown. Rylee Wilcoxson caught the conversion pass from Jehle Dickson for a 7-0 lead.

Haylei Mason returned the first of two interceptions 35 yards for a touchdown and a 13-0 lead.

Anna Russo had a pair of interceptions on defense and added a five-yard touchdown run for the game’s final points. 

Kate Robertson, Jamie McGuire, Frances Rogers and Haley Ishman had multiple sacks for the Knights.

Catholic returns home to play Auburn and Prattville in a doubleheader on Tuesday. The Knights will play Auburn at 4:30 p.m., followed by a game between Auburn and Prattville. The Knights will play Prattville to close out the evening at approximately 6:30 p.m.

Prattville 60, Valley 8

VALLEY -- Hartley McCay threw three touchdown passes and rushed for three more touchdowns to lead the Lions to a 60-8 win over Valley on Thursday. 

McCay completed 8 of 11 passes for 100 yards, including touchdown passes to Lanieya Page and Kaylee Robles. Page rushed for a touchdown and had two touchdown receptions from McCay covering 65 yards. McCay also rushed for 70 yards and three touchdowns. 

Defensively for the Lions, Page and Avery Patterson recorded interceptions, while Gabbie Hoyle had a pair of sacks. 

Prattville (6-2) travels to Montgomery on Tuesday to play a pair of games at Catholic. Prattville will play Auburn at approximately 5:30 p.m., following the conclusion of the Catholic-Auburn game. After the Prattville-Auburn game, the Lions will face Catholic at approximately 6:30 p.m.

FOOTBALL

Central-Phenix City 55, JAG 0

PHENIX CITY - The Jaguars managed just 14 total yards of offense and was held to minus-11 yards on the ground in their fifth loss of the season on Thursday at Garrett-Harrison Stadium.

Central (5-0, 4-0 7A/R2) got three touchdown receptions from Cam Coleman with Andrew Coleman throwing for four TDs.

JAG (0-5, 0-3) has next week off before playing Percy Julian (Lee) on Oct. 5 at Cramton Bowl.