Varsity volleyball roundup: Russellville sets new program record, Red Bay celebrates seniors during packed week

Below is a breakdown of all the local varsity volleyball action that took place September 15-20:

Belgreen opened the week with an area match against the Mars Hill Lady Panthers on Monday, September 15. The Lady Bulldogs came up just short in that match, falling 3-2 (25-23, 13-25, 25-20, 12-25, 11-15). Carson Hovater had 12 kills, Lilliana Willingham had 11 kills and 15 digs, Bryn Scott recorded 36 digs, and Alayna Tate had 30 assists and 10 digs in the loss.

BHS suffered a second area defeat again on Tuesday in a 3-1 (25-20, 15-25, 18-25, 16-25) final against Covenant Christian. Hovator recorded 11 kills and five digs, Willingham had four kills and 15 digs, Tate made 16 assists and 10 digs,  Scott made 17 digs, and Randi Terry had nine kills and nine digs for the match.

On Thursday, the Lady Bulldogs played a tri-match at Colbert Heights against the hosting Lady Wildcats and Waterloo. Belgreen beat Colbert Heights 2-1 (23-25, 27-25, 18-16) and downed Waterloo 2-0 (25-6, 25-23) to improve its record to 12-10 overall this campaign. In the final two matches of the week, Hovater had 19 kills, Tate recorded 35 assists, and Scott had 29 digs.

Belgreen’s varsity volleyball team will play its next match against Colbert Heights on Monday, September 22.

Phil Campbell began the week with home matches against Colbert County and Hackleburg on Tuesday, September 16. The Lady Bobcats improved to 2-2 in their area with a 3-1 (25-8, 24-26, 25-14, 25-16) victory over the Indians. PCHS fell to Hackleburg 2-0 (11-25, 24-26).

Thursday night, the Lady Bobcats traveled to Hamilton to face the Lady Aggies and Cordova. Phil Campbell lost both matches 2-0; against Hamilton 15-25, 20-25 and versus Cordova 14-25, 15-25.

Phil Campbell’s next matches will be played on Tuesday, September 23, at East Lawrence. PCHS will play a tri-match against ELHS and Covenant Christian.

Red Bay started its week on Tuesday with a tri-match against Russellville and Haleyville. The Lady Tigers lost both, falling to Haleyville 2-0 and to Russellville 2-0 (17-25, 17-25).

On Thursday, Red Bay hosted Class 1A Hackleburg for Senior Night where it honored its three seniors Anna Kate Burks, Kyla Blackburn, and Haidyn Emerson. RBHS fell in that contest 3-1.

Up next for Red Bay is an area contest at home against Lamar County on Tuesday.

Russellville started its week on Monday, September 15, with a match against Covenant Christian. The Lady Golden Tigers dispatched their opponent in four sets, 3-1 (17-25, 25-8, 25-20, 25-21) to improve to 20-6 overall this campaign. Laila Hill and Blevyn Sappington led the RHS attack with 12 and 11 kills, respectively, in the contest while libero Bri McCulloch led the team in digs with 25 and senior setter Fatima Ramirez ended the night with a team-high 16 assists.

The Lady Golden Tigers continued play on Tuesday night with matches against Haleyville and Red Bay. RHS fell to Haleyville 2-0 (25-27, 25-27) before defeating the Lady Tigers of Red Bay 2-0 (25-17, 25-17). In the loss to HHS, Sappington led the RHS attack with a team-best nine kills while McCulloch recorded 16 digs and Ramirez had 13 assists. In the victory over RBHS, Hill had a team-high eight kills, McCulloch had seven digs, and Ramirez finished with 11 assists.

RHS ended its week on Saturday at a tournament hosted by Brooks High School where the Lady Golden Tigers finished runner-up to tourney champ Lauderdale County. Russellville went 6-1 on the day sweeping Clements (25-18, 25-14), Colbert County (25-11, 25-6), Brooks (25-21, 25-21), Florence (25-14, 25-17), Mars Hill (30-28, 25-20), and Lawrence County, Tenn. (25-23, 25-12) before falling to Lauderdale County in the final 2-0 (16-25, 25-27).

The Lady Golden Tigers had an excellent day on the court that also translated over to the record books. Individually, libero Bri McCulloch recorded the 1,000th dig of her career, and the program set a new record for wins in a season. The old record, 21 wins, was met after Tuesday’s matches, but this team blew the record out of the water by improving to 27-8.

“Bri McCulloch’s achievement of reaching 1,000 digs as a sophomore is an incredible milestone that speaks volumes not only about her talent but her determination and leadership on the court,” Russellville second-year head coach Madison Lamon told the Franklin Free Press. “To hit such a number a high number in her career shows just how mature and focused she is as a player. It’s rare to see someone with that much composure and impact so early in their career. And to do it while being a vocal leader on the court.

“As for the team breaking the program’s record for wins, that’s an achievement that deserves to be celebrated in every way, but it is not our main goal. It’s one thing to set a record, but to raise it so much higher shows just how much growth and improvement have been made. These players are not just playing; they’re constantly pushing themselves to be better. The intentional focus they’ve had on improving their play, gaining confidence, competing every point, and ensuring that every player is fully invested in getting better has paid off,” Lamon added. “Seeing the difference from last year to this year in terms of both individual growth and team cohesion — is what has directly translated into these wins. You can tell that the team is not just playing for themselves but for one another, and that sense of unity can take a group to incredible heights. When you have players like Bri leading the way and a team that’s fully committed to the process, big things like this are bound to happen. It’s a reflection of the effort, mindset, and culture that’s been established — and there’s no telling how much further they can go from here. Truly proud of the team!”

RHS continues its campaign at home on Tuesday; the Lady Golden Tigers will face Lawrence County in an area matchup before playing Lexington.

Tharptown came up short in all three of its varsity contests during the week. In road matches against Rogers and Florence on September 16, the Lady Wildcats fell 2-0 in both; 23-25, 21-25 were the set scores against Rogers and Florence won 25-16, 25-5.

Thursday Tharptown faced area foe Mars Hill and lost 3-1 (14-25, 25-23, 16-25, 19-25).

The Lady Wildcats are scheduled to play their next varsity match at home against rival Belgreen on Thursday, September 25.

From left to right: Red Bay seniors Anna Kate Burks, Haidyn Emerson, and Kyla Blackburn.

Russellville’s second-year head coach Madison Lamon has led the Lady Golden Tigers to the most wins in a single season in program history.

Red Bay celebrates a point during its match against Hackleburg on September 18.

(Credit: Caleb Ramey)