Hartselle ranks No. 2 in pre-season volleyball rankings
The Hartselle Tigers volleyball team starts 2020 ranked as the No. 2 team in Class 6A in the first volleyball poll of the season, released by AL.com.
The Tigers will face a loaded Class 6A this season. Last year’s runner–up, Hazel Green, is ranked No. 1, while defending state champion Spanish Fort is right behind Hartselle at No. 3.
Mountain Brook, which moves down from 7A where the team won the state championship, ranked No. 4, while Jasper, the state champ in 5A, moves up and is ranked No. 6.
Hartselle, which won a school-record 68 matches last season, returns an experienced team led by seniors Hailey Holshouser and Lillyanna Cartee, who was named to the 6A All-State first team.
Coach Tanya Lybarger returns for her 24th season as the Tigers’ head coach. She picked up win 1,000 late last season in a victory over Addison.
Brewer starts the season ranked No. 7 in 5A, while Danville is ranked No. 2 in 3A. Decatur Heritage is ranked No. 5 in 1A. All three of these teams will have new head coaches this year, with Jill Faulkner taking over at Brewer, Megan Aldridge leading Danville and Kelly Garland stepping in at Decatur Heritage.
Here are the AL.com pre–season volleyball rankings. Local teams are in bold:
CLASS 7A
- Hoover
- McGill-Toolen
- Spain Park
- Bob Jones
- Thompson
- Sparkman
- Vestavia Hills
- Enterprise
- Baker
- Grissom
Teams to watch: Albertville, Dothan, Huntsville, James Clemens and Oak Mountain
CLASS 6A
- Hazel Green
- Hartselle
- Spanish Fort
- Mountain Brook
- Pelham
- Jasper
- St. Paul’s
- Northridge
- Buckhorn
- Athens
Teams to watch: Chelsea, Faith Academy, Gardendale, Helena, Muscle Shoals, Southside-Gadsden and St. James
CLASS 5A
- Bayside Academy
- Guntersville
- Providence Christian
- Ramsay
- Alexandria
- Madison Academy
- Brewer
- Lawrence County
- West Point
- BrewbakerTech
Teams to watch: East Limestone, Lincoln, Satsuma and UMS-Wright
CLASS 4A
- Montgomery Academy
- Jacksonville
- Deshler
- LAMP
- Curry
- Westminster Christian
- West Morgan
- Brooks
- Alabama Christian
- Central-Florence
Teams to watch: Fairview, Madison County, Priceville, St. John Paul II and St. Michael
CLASS 3A
- St. Luke’s
- Danville
- Geraldine
- Plainview
- Cottage Hill
- Prattville Christian
- Ohatchee
- Carbon Hill
- Lauderdale County
- Montgomery Catholic
Teams to watch: Houston Academy, Pleasant Valley and Trinity
CLASS 2A
- Addison
- Lexington
- Spring Garden
- Winston County
- Altamont
- Westminster-Oak Mountain
- G.W. Long
- Athens Bible
- Sand Rock
- Ider
Teams to watch: Ariton, Goshen, Hatton and Westbrook Christian
CLASS 1A
- Donoho
- Lindsay Lane
- Meek
- Phillips
- Decatur Heritage
- Holy Spirit
- Pleasant Home
- Sweet Water
- Marion County
- Cedar Bluff
Teams to watch: Bayshore Christian, Brantley, Faith Christian and Kinston