Phil Campbell advances to North Super Regional with runner-up finish at Class 3A Area 15 tournament
The Phil Campbell High School varsity volleyball team is headed back to the AHSAA North Super Regional for the third straight season after finishing runner-up in the Class 3A Area 15 tournament at Colbert Heights on Thursday night.
Despite winning just five matches during the regular season, the Lady Bobcats took care of business when it mattered most, securing a tournament semifinal win to advance to the area championship and earn an automatic berth in the regional tournament.
To get to the area final the Lady Bobcats had to first take down Sheffield, which they did in four sets.
Phil Campbell, which hadn’t played for a full week prior to the Sheffield match, had to shake off some rust—or have the rust knocked off them—before putting their best foot forward. The Lady Bobcats were routed in the first set 25-8 but rebounded quickly in the second set to win 25-18. The Lady Bobcats didn’t fool around after that, beating Sheffield 25-13 in the third set before grabbing a 25-22 victory in the fourth and final set.
Advancing to the area tournament championship, Phil Campbell put up a fight against the host, top-seeded Colbert Heights, but ultimately fell in three straight sets, 18-25, 21-25, and 14-25.
Though PCHS has yet to have a winning regular season record in the young history of its program, the Lady Bobcats have done what they’ve needed to do to qualify for postseason play in three of their four varsity campaigns, winning the area tournament in 2023 and finishing runner-up last season. When the Lady Bobcats have gotten to the playoffs, their teams have played fairly well, advancing to the second round of the regional in 2023 and taking Winfield the distance in the first round of the regional last season.
Phil Campbell will have another opportunity to make its mark in 2025 when they travel to Hoover to face Donoho in the opening round, Wednesday, October 22. First serve is set for 9 a.m. at the Hoover Met Complex’s Finley Center.