VOLLEYBALL REGIONALS: Trinity upended by UMS again; ACA, Billingsley ousted
Trinit’s Kaitlynne Kelller fires a shot past Providence Christian players in Wednesday’s 5A Super Regional at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
The third time wasn’t the charm.
For the third consecutive year, Trinity and UMS-Wright met in the second round of the AHSAA 5A South Super Regional at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl on Wednesday evening.
For the third consecutive year, the Bulldogs put an end to Trinity’s season.
“That’s a great program, a great coach,” Trinity coach Sarah Dubberley said. “They have very athletic girls. They’re just a good team.”
The defending 5A state champions advanced to the state tournament with the win and will face Faith Academy on Thursday afternoon for seeding purposes in the upcoming state tournament. Trinity (16-25), meanwhile, has now fallen in the second round for three consecutive years after making three consecutive trips to the state finals.
The Wildcats had a rollercoaster season but reached the postseason with a win over St. James in the area tournament semifinals and hit a high note on Wednesday afternoon with a first-round win over Providence Christian, winning 25-20, 25-22 and 25-17.
“Providence, for the longest time, has had a very sound program,” Dubberley said. “They’re very disciplined, they have good ball control. Sometimes, that can make it hard to beat a team because the ball doesn’t hit the ground much.
“I feel like both of our teams were evenly matched in that aspect. We both pride ourselves on defense and serve-receive.”
For Trinity, Ellie Causey had four kills, five digs and 31 assists, Lilly Smith had 25 digs and three assists, Micaiah Shelton had 12 kills, six blocks, 10 digs and two aces, Kaitlynn Keller had seven kills and 13 digs and Cate Chapman had five kills, four blocks and a dig.
Providence Christian (29-9) got 13 kills and six digs from Virginia Townsend, while Carlee Smith had 10 kills, two blocks, eight digs and an ace, Laura Faulk had a dig, 29 assists and three aces, Dantzler Dowling had four kills, two blocks and an ace and Lauren Bailey had 17 digs.
In the second-round game, the Wildcats weren’t as fortunate as UMS-Wright won 25-14, 25-10 and 25-13.
Ellie Causey had a kill, eight digs, a block and two aces, Shelton had 11 kills, two digs and two blocks, Keller had three kills, eight digs and two blocks, Lizzie Causey had six kills and eight digs and Chapman had six kills, three blocks, two digs and an ace.
The last day of the season, like many of the previous days this season, featured its share of highs and lows for the Wildcats. In what was clearly a rebuilding year, Dubberley leaned heavily on her four seniors that were instrumental in Trinity’s success -- Ann Wilber, Ellie Causey, Lizzie Causey and Kaitlynn Keller.
“The seniors were a significant portion of our lineup,” Dubberley said. “While there were a lot of younger girls, I think the seniors did a very good job of giving them things to take away (from the season) for years to come.
“I think they did a good job of that. I hate it that it wasn’t in the cards for us today and God had it written a different way, but that’s part of His plan.”
Northside Methodist 3, Alabama Christian 1
Northside Methodist rallied with a 27-25 win in the third set, then advanced with a win in the fourth set to defeat Alabama Christian 3-1 in the opening round of the AHSAA 3A South Super Regiional at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl on Wednesday.
Northside Methodist went on to defeat Flomaton and earn the program’s first-ever trip to the AHSAA state tournament, while ending ACA’s season.
ACA lost the first set 25-17, then won the second set 25-14 before losing the third set 27-25 and the fourth set 25-5.
For Northside Methodist, Madison Fay had 22 assists, five digs and 10 aces, Shannon Alvord had 10 kills, 11 digs and five aces and Jenna Forrester had five kills and five blocks.
For ACA, Morgan Bond had nine kills, eight blocks and a dig, Scarlett Thompson had a kill, eight digs and 12 assists, Mary Morgan McGough had four kills, a block and two digs, Addie Smith had four kills, a block four digs and an ace and Kaylee Rudolph had three digs and six assists.
Leroy 3, Billingsley 2
Billingsley won the first two sets 25-16 and 25-22 and was on the verge of advancing to the second round when the wheels came off in a five-set loss to Leroy in the opening round of the AHSAA 1A South Super Regional at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl on Wednesday.
Billingsley was leading late in the third set before losing 25-20, 25-23 and 15-13 to finish their season. Leroy went on to defeat Verbena to qualify for the state tournament.
For Leroy, Liz Baugh had three kills and five aces, Hannah Howard had six kills and three aces, Sydney Johnson had three kills and seven aces and Ellie Reed had three digs and three aces.