Varsity volleyball roundup: August 31-September 5, 2026

Below is a breakdown of all the local varsity volleyball action during the first week and a half of the season, from August 31-September 5:

Belgreen opened its week Monday with home matches against Colbert County and area foe Waterloo, earning victories in each.

Against Colbert County, the Lady Bulldogs won 2-0 (25-15, 25-15). Lilliana Willingham and Caleigh Lawson led the attack against CCHS. Willingham finished the match with four kills and Lawson and five service aces.

Belgreen improved to 2-0 in area play with its 3-1 (14-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-14) triumph over Waterloo. Willingham scored another 12 kills in the win. Lily Green added a team-high 14 kills, Leah Blackburn came through with a team-high 20 assists, and Madison McKee recorded 21 digs.

On Tuesday, the Lady Bulldogs hosted Cherokee in another area contest, sweeping the Lady Indians 3-0 (25-12, 25-7, 26-24) to move to 3-0 in Area 14. Green and Willingham led offensively with eight and seven kills, respectively, and Madalyn LeMay had nine assists.

BHS wrapped the week with a 5-6 record.

Phil Campbell began its week on Tuesday with a road tri-match against Tharptown and Hatton. The Lady Bobcats lost both games 2-0.

PCHS completed its week on Thursday with two more matches vs. Curry and Carbon Hill, both ending in defeats. It was a 2-0 loss to Curry and a 3-0 loss in the Lady Bobcats’ area opener against Carbon Hill.

Phil Campbell is scheduled to resume competition against East Lawrence and region foe Winston County at home on Tuesday, September 8.

Red Bay started its week on Tuesday with a 3-0 win over Vina High School. The Lady Tigers then saw split results in a road tri-match at Tharptown on Thursday. RBHS suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Tharptown before turning things around with a 2-0 victory over Phillips.

Russellville High School senior Alexia Groce along with teammates. Groce was recognized for reaching 1,000 career assists this season. (Courtesy RHS Volleyball)

Russellville began its week on Monday at home with matches against Covenant Christian and Lauderdale County, winning both.

The Lady Golden Tigers defeated Covenant 2-0 (25-11, 25-17) before taking down Lauderdale County in three sets (26-28, 26-24, 15-11). In the two matches, Blevyn Sappington and Bella Malone led the attack with 21 kills and 19 kills, respectively. Sappington also added 19 digs and Malone had six blocks. Erin Grimes had 24 digs and led RHS in assists in the two games with 24 total, as well. Defensively, Bri McCulloch finished the two matches with 42 digs.

On Monday night Russellville also celebrated a member of its squad for an individual accomplishment: Senior Alexia Groce was recognized for breaking the 1,000 career assists mark earlier this season. After Monday’s two games she had accumulated 1,046 career assists.

Russellville picked play back up on Tuesday and subsequently wrapped its week up with two more matches against Austin and Wilson. RHS lost both 2-0. Sappington had 10 kills and 22 digs in the two defeats, while McCulloch recorded 28 digs and Malone had four blocks.

The Lady Golden Tigers ended the week with an 11-9 record.

Tharptown held tri-matches on both Tuesday and Thursday. The Lady Wildcats hosted Phil Campbell and Hatton on Tuesday before bringing in Red Bay and Phillips on Thursday.

THS split against Phil Campbell and Hatton, beating the Lady Bobcats 2-0 before falling to the Lady Hornets 2-0. Tharptown then swept the competition on Thursday with 2-0 victories over both RBHS and Phillips.

The Lady Wildcats will resume play on September 10 with contests against Hatton and Wilson.

Vina suffered a 3-0 defeat to Red Bay to start its week on Tuesday. The Lady Red Devils continued play with matches against Huntsville Christian Academy on Thursday winning 2-0 (25-23, 25-16) before losing 2-1 (25-16, 16-25, 7-15).

VHS is scheduled to hit the court next against Belgreen on Tuesday, September 8.