SPARTANS FALL IN AREA FINAL, LOOK AHEAD TO SUPER REGIONALS

The Mountain Brook High School volleyball team clinched its berth in the Class 7A North Super Regional with a victory Tuesday night, but the Spartans were still left wanting at the end of the Area 6 tournament. Mountain Brook hosted the tournament after coming out on top of a three-way tie with Oak Mountain and Spain Park. The Spartans defeated Huffman in the opening round, but fell to the Eagles in the final. The 3-0 (25-8, 25-11, 25-9) win over Huffman was expected and locked Mountain Brook into the super regional, but the 3-1 (24-26, 23-25, 25-21, 24-26) loss to Oak Mountain left a somewhat bitter taste. “We’ve got to forget today,” said Spartans coach Vickie Nichols. “We played hard and were one point from the fourth game. That’s going to be a hard one to live with.” Oak Mountain notched just two more points than Mountain Brook in the entirety of the match, but the Eagles found a way to win three of the four sets. In the fourth set, the Spartans wasted three consecutive set points and watched the Eagles rally to win both the set and match. Now the Spartans look ahead to the super regional tournament, which begins Friday at 9 a.m. at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville. Mountain Brook opens up against Huntsville, needing a victory to secure a spot in the state tournament. Although the Spartans are the three-time reigning 7A champ, the majority of the roster has not seen the floor in the postseason moments. That will be the challenge, as Mountain Brook fights to break through once again. “They’ve just got to keep playing hard,” Nichols said. “Any team can be beaten on any given day, and that’s what we have to look for. We’ve been so close. We’ve just got to get over the hump. I’m proud of them. They could’ve quit after that second game.”

SPARTANS FALL IN AREA FINAL, LOOK AHEAD TO SUPER REGIONALS

Photo Credit: Sarah Finnegan