The Hartselle Tigers swept the competition on their way to the Morgan County volleyball tournament championship Thursday evening at Falkville High School.

The Tigers opened the tournament with wins over Decatur Heritage 25-10, 25-12, and Brewer 25-10, 25-20 to secure the top seed in Pool B. They also defeated West Morgan 25-12, 25-19 in a match that didn’t count towards the standings.

They advanced to the semifinals along with Brewer(1-1) from Pool B and West Morgan (3-0) and Austin (3-1) from Pool A.

Hartselle defeated Austin 25-10, 25-15 in the semifinals to advance to the finals. In the first set, the Tigers broke open a tight game, 11-10, with 14 consecutive points to take the first set.

West Morgan defeated Brewer 25-23, 23-25, 15-12 to force a rematch with Hartselle in the finals.

Hartselle defeated the Rebels 25-10, 25-11 to secure the championship. In the first set, the Tigers scored nine of the final ten points to get the win. They score 15 of the final 18 points in the second set for the victory.

Lillyanna led the Tigers attack with 10 kills and 10 digs in the championship match. Jessica Jarret had 12 digs, Jadyn Chesser added seven digs and six kills, and Grace Tapscott recorded 17 assists.

“I feel like we did a really good job keeping our level of play high throughout the tournament,” said Hartselle head coach Tanya Lybarger. “I was pleased seeing the girls win the county championship.”

This was the second consecutive county championship won by the Tigers. They were led by four seniors, Hailey Holshouser, Lillyanna Cartee, Jessica Jarrett, and Tori Hughes, who have been the backbone of the team over the last two seasons. Following the championship match win, the seniors have been part of 110 wins since the start of the 2019 season.

“I love my seniors,” said Lybarger. “It is hard to believe that this is the last time that they will play in the county tournament.”

Hartselle (42-10), ranked #3 in 6A,  now turns their attention to matches with 6A #4 Mountain Brook and 6A #10 Pelham on Saturday at Hartselle High School.

“Saturday is huge for us as Moutinain Brook and Pelham come to town,” said Lybarger. “The competition on Saturday will help prepare us for the postseason.”

Tournament Scores

Pool A

West Morgan defeats Austin 25-20, 27-25

West Morgan defeats Decatur 25-19, 25-14

West Morgan defeats Falkville 25-15, 25-11

Austin defeats Decatur 25-14, 21-25, 15-10

Austin defeats Falkville 25-10, 25-17

Decatur defeats 27-25, 25-17

Pool B

Hartselle defeats Decatur Heritage 25-10, 25-12

Hartselle defeats Brewer 25-10, 25-20

Hartselle defeats West Morgan 25-12, 25-19*

Brewer defeats Decatur Heritage 25-10, 25-10

Austin defeats Brewer 23-25, 25-21, 15-12*

Decatur defeats Decatur Heritage 25-14, 20-29, 17, 15*
* Games don’t count towards seeding

Semifinals
Hartselle defeats Austin 25-10, 25-15
West Morgan defeats Brewer 25-23, 23-25, 15-12

Finals
Hartselle defeats West Morgan 25-10, 25-11