Houston Academy wins Class 2A, Area 2 volleyball crown

After struggling with injuries on the front row most of the season, Houston Academy’s volleyball team is getting healthy at the right time.

With almost its full compliment of blockers and hitters in tow, the Raiders dominated the Class 2A, Area 2 Tournament Monday, winning a pair of matches, including a sweep of G.W. Long in the championship.

After a lackluster 25-15, 25-23, 25-18 win over Barbour County, Houston Academy took out Long 25-16, 25-18, 25-14, trailing only once in the championship match.

Long advanced to the finals with a 25-5, 25-7, 25-7 win over Houston County.

Both Houston Academy (30-11) and Long (24-7) advanced to Saturday’s Class 2A, Regional A Tournament, most likely at Mobile Christian.

“We did not play well (against Barbour County),” Houston Academy head coach Hannah Braswell said. “We have been having slow starts all year and I expected that, but I didn’t expect the games to be that tight. Barbour County is really scrappy and played well.
“I was really concerned going into the championship game that that (lackluster play) would flow into it, but the girls decided they needed to step up their game.

“They talked to each other before the match and as a team, they said they were going to step up and play to win.”
The Raiders lost standout blocker Caitlin Stone for the year to an ACL tear from soccer before the season started. They have battled through injuries and sickness to other front-row players.

Since the season started, front-row players Amelia Schuylar (ankle injury), Ashley Steffens (sprained ankle, flu) and Autumn Steffens (flu) all missed time at various points.

The two Steffens, both 6-foot, returned several weeks ago, while the 6-foot-2 Schuylar returned less than two weeks ago.
“It is huge. You go from a 5-foot-5 blocker to a 6-foot-2 blocker,” said Braswell of having Schuylar back. “We also moved Ashley outside as she has a better attack outside.”

In the championship match, the two Steffens sisters and Schuylar combined on 18 kills and six blocks.

Ashley Steffens had nine kills and a block, Autumn Steffens five kills and a block and Schuylar had four kills and four blocks. Ashley Steffens also contributed two aces.

Ellise McEntire, the other key player on the front line, earned seven kills and a block.

Houston Academy grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first game and never trailed, though it couldn’t pull away until midway.

Long pulled to within two twice, once at 11-9, the other at 12-10.

The Raiders then scored four straight points and 10 of 11 to build a commanding 22-11 advantage.

Long, behind Amelia Hughes, closed to within eight at 24-16, but Autumn Steffens hit a tip shot into a hole on the side after a Mary Katherine Smith set to finish the game off.

Houston Academy scored the opening point in game two then the Rebels tallied two straight points to take a 2-1 lead. Hughes had a kill for one of the points.

However, the lead would be the only one Long would see in the championship as HA scored four straight to take the lead for good.
Long stayed close, pulling to within one three times then after a brief HA surge, the Rebels cut it to two at 16-14.

However, a block by Schuylar sparked a 6-1 Raider run that made it 22-15.

The margin bounced from six and seven the rest of the game before Long couldn’t return an Ashley Steffens attack, giving the Raiders a 25-18 game two win.

Behind Smith’s serving, Houston Academy raced to a 4-0 lead in game three and gradually pulled away, eventually winning it 25-14. Ashley Steffens’ kill off a Smith set ended the match.

“They really moved their feet well and communicated with each other,” Braswell said of her team in the finals. “They gelled and played as an team and not as individuals like they did against Barbour County. We also had better passes, which set up good attacks.”

In addition to the strong front line play, the Raiders got three aces each from Smith and Emily Jackson, and Smith also earned 27 assists and three digs.

For Long in the championship, Hughes had six kills, four aces and five digs, Chelsie Lowery had five digs and three blocks, Chelsey Sizemore had three aces and nine digs and Brittany Day had four digs and two aces. Kirstie Ross added two aces, three digs and two assists.

Earlier in the day, HA beat Barbour County as Smith had four aces and 12 assists, Autumn Steffens had seven aces and two kills and Schuylar five kills and four blocks.

For Long in its win over Houston County, Lowery had 14 aces, two kills and two digs, Ross had five aces and four aces, Hughes five kills, two digs and two assists. Malaka Goldsmith had five aces and Ashley Glaze three aces. Day had two kills and an ace.