South Beats North 3-1 in Volleyball All-Star Match
Shelley Spires of St. Paul’s had 14 kills Thursday afternoon in the South’s 3-1 win over the North in the 17th annual AHSAA North-South Volleyball All-Star competition. None, however, was bigger than her last one.
Spires took a feed from Oak Mountain’s Hannah Beach for the game-winning point in the fourth set of the best 3-of-5 match to seal the win at Faulkner University’s Tyne Davis Gymnasium in Montgomery.
The South won 25-19 and 25-17 in the first two sets but fell 26-24 in a hard-fought third set to set up the final game of the match. Leading 26-25, Beach, who had seven kills as an outside hitter, lifted a pass to Spires who delivered the final blow.
Spires was named MVP for the South, which snapped a six-year winning streak for the North – winning for the first time in the annual classic since 2006. The North now leads the series 12-5.
She also had two blocks and 10 digs. Setters Sydney Chandler of Bayside Academy and Rachel Lee of Montgomery Academy added 18 and 11 assists, respectively. Morgan Dulaney of Bayside added nine kills and Katelyn Bobinger of McGill-Toolen had eight kills for the South.
Grissom’s Kristy Bohan totaled a match-high 17 kills and five blocks to earn North MVP honors. Huntsville’s Briana Sandifer and Jacksonville’s Katherine Neisler added nine kills each, Anna Johnson of Hoover served three aces and Melissa-Paul Hill of Hartselle had 34 assists as setter. Defensively, North libero Alexis Howell of Bob Jones notched a match-high 26 digs.
The South was coached by Manuel Guice of Alabama Christian and Kellye Jordan Bowen of St. James. Amy Rachel of Elmore County was the administrative coach. North coaches were Melissa Hammond of Lexington and Robyn Hutto, with Randolph’s Sue Marshall serving as the administrative coach.