Russellville’s tourney win highlights opening weekend for county volleyball squads

The high school volleyball season started this weekend with all five varsity teams from Franklin County in action. Matches began on Thursday with some schools playing/starting on Saturday, as well.

Belgreen started its season on the road, playing in a tournament at Colbert Heights on Saturday. The Lady Bulldogs played in four total matches against Hamilton, Mars Hill, Phil Campbell and Colbert Heights. BHS went 2-2, losing to Mars Hill 2-1 (28-26, 20-25, 5-15) and Colbert Heights 2-1 (25-23, 12-25, 10-15); Belgreen beat Hamilton 2-1 (25-22, 21-25, 15-8) and Phil Campbell 2-0 (25-13, 25-15).

Senior Bryn Scott recorded 42 digs for Belgreen during the tournament, while Carson Hovater and Lilliana Willingham had 14 and 16 kills, respectively. Alayna Tate had 18 assists at setter and tallied 20 digs, as well.

Phil Campbell, who played in the same tournament as Belgreen on Saturday, started its season on Thursday against Covenant Christian and Wilson. The Lady Bobcats lost both of those matches 2-0. At the Colbert Heights tourney, PCHS was beaten in all three matches it played: Mars Hill won 2-0 (18-25, 11-25), Belgreen won 2-0 (13-25, 15-25), and Hamilton won 2-1 (16-25, 26-24, 5-15).

Red Bay began its campaign on Thursday with two matches against Tharptown and Itawamba Agricultural High School. The Lady Tigers took both matches that evening—2-1 against Tharptown and 2-0 versus Itawamba Ag—to start the season 2-0.

On Saturday, Red Bay competed in the Colbert Heights Invitational and advanced to the semifinals of the tournament. In another matchup against Tharptown, RBHS won 2-0 before also sweeping Cherokee 2-0. Red Bay suffered its first defeat of the season in its next match against Colbert Heights 2-0. In the semifinal, RBHS was beaten by Mars Hill 2-0.

Russellville started its season on Thursday with two road matches against Lynn and Hamilton. The Lady Golden Tigers swept both matches 2-0. The team was led by Laila Hill, who had a team-high 15 kills in those two games.

On Saturday, RHS continued its run by winning the Lauderdale County Serve Off Tournament. After losing the opening match of the tournament 2-0 to Lauderdale County, the Lady Golden Tigers went on a five-match winning streak to take home the tournament title. RHS defeated Whitesburg 2-0 (25-15, 25-23), Florence 2-0 (25-18, 25-16), West Limestone 2-0 (25-21, 25-18), Lauderdale County 2-1 (15-25, 25-23, 15-13), and then in the championship match defeated Deshler 2-0 (27-25, 25-21).

“I was extremely impressed with how our team opened up the weekend. After dropping the first game (of the Lauderdale County tournament), our girls responded with high energy, great communication, and fought every step of the way. They showed resilience, and continued to meet every expectation we had set going into each match. It was a true team effort, and they proved that they’re more than capable of battling through adversity and staying locked in from start to finish,” second-year Russellville head coach Madison Lamon told the Franklin Free Press. “This performance should give our team a huge boost in confidence. They worked so hard this weekend and the result showed just that. They showed grit and hustle (Saturday) and I am so proud of each and everyone of them. It reinforces that when we stay focused, communicate, and trust the process of the team over me that we can compete at a high level. I think this sets a strong tone for the rest of the season and gives the girls something to be proud of as they continue to grow.”

In the championship game, Hill once again led the way with five kills against Deshler to finish the day with 41 total kills. Meanwhile Blevyn Sappington had a team-high three blocks in the championship game and Bri McCulloch had 21 digs.

Tharptown started its 2025 season on the road against Red Bay and Itawamba on Thursday. The Lady Wildcats dropped both matches in three sets.

“I’m very proud of our team for their performance Thursday at Red Bay,” first-year Tharptown head coach Lori Huffaker said. “We went three sets with Red Bay, and we also went three sets with Itawamba, losing the third set 16-14.”

On Saturday, the Lady Wildcats continued play with three matches in the Colbert Heights Invitational. THS was swept by Red Bay (25-27, 22-25) and Colbert Heights (26-28, 12-25) but beat Cherokee 2-0 (25-15, 25-16).

Belgreen’s Audree West (13) makes a play on the ball during the Lady Bulldogs’ match against Hamilton.