MONTGOMERY – It took a little while for the South volleyball team to find its rhythm Thursday afternoon in the AHSAA North-South Volleyball All-Star match at the Cramton Bowl.
Once they found it, however, the South hummed a sweet tune the rest of the way.
The South won the final all-star competition of the AHSAA’s 2023 All-Star Sports Week 3-1 over the North – 13-25, 25-23, 25-8, 25-12. It was the second win in a row for the South in the series. The North still holds the edge in the competition 15-10. The series was first held in 1997 when the AHSAA began its annual Summer Conference and All-Star Sports Week.
South outside hitter Chelsea Duffin led the way up front. She earned South MVP honors with 16 kills, nine digs, two blocks and two assists. It was a real team effort for the winners, however, coached by Spanish Fort’s Gretchen Boykin and Horseshoe Bend’s Julie Franklin.
The match didn’t start like the South expected.
The North girls dominated from the service box in game one to take a 25-13 win. Mountain Brook’s Hannah Parant served seven points in a run to turn a 6-5 lead into 13-6 advantage early on. Thanks to the strong net play of McGill-Toolen’s Daffin, who landed five kills in the opening game, the South closed to 13-10 before Thompson’s Elizabeth Kelly went to the service line and served eight straight points, including two aces.
The North, coached by Maggie Finley of Muscle Shoals and Mattie Gardner of Mountain Brook, may have had a quick 1-0 lead in the best-of-5 match, but that momentum evaporated in game two.
Jasper’s Alayna Hattaway controlled the net play with five kills in the first game for the North but managed only five more the rest of the match. The big reason was Daffin and a South squad that continued to turn up the pressure as the match progressed and finished with a team-leading 10.
Leading 15-13 in game two, Daffin delivered her ninth kill and Pleasant Home’s Haily Ward delivered two aces in a row to give The South a 21-16 lead in game two. The North closed to 23-all before the South took game two 25-23. Setter Heather Holtz of Enterprise had nine assists in the second game – setting up Daffin and Amelia Edgeworth of Orange Beach to even the match to 1-1. She finished with a match-high 21 assists and team high 10 digs.
The South’s aggressive serves kept pressure on the North in Game 3 en route to an 8-3 lead. Daffin registered her 10th kill of the match in the fast start as well. The South dominated all phases to take a 25-8 win to build a 2-1 lead. The South closed out the win with a 25-12 victory in game four for the 3-1 triumph.
Emma Moore, Daffin’s teammate at Mobile’s McGill-Toolen, finished with eight kills, Clarissa Dupree of St. Paul’s and Reece Varden of Spanish Fort added five kills each as the South finished with a 44-39 edge over the North. Blakeley Robbins of Bayside Academy had 17 assists. Daffin and St. Luke’s Camryn Waite each had nine digs.
North MVP Megan Jarrett of Bob Jones, had a match-high 15 digs and two assists from the libero position. Kelly finished with 19 assists and Parant had 14.
Jasper’s Alayna Hattaway shines in All-Star Game
