Oxford Volleyball Dominates

Courtesy of The Anniston Star
By Nick BirdsongSports Writer
10-15-2008

OXFORD — Oxford utterly dominated the competition from start to finish Tuesday afternoon on its way to an Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 6A, Area 13 tournament title.
The top-seeded Yellow Jackets defeated Pell City in the semifinals and Hewitt-Trussville in the final, winning both matches 3-0, to finish the season undefeated against area foes. They dropped the Panthers 25-9, 25-14, 25-15, then disposed of the Huskies 25-9, 25-14, 25-15 on the way to the championship.

The performance, though impressive, certainly wasn't anything out of the ordinary for the Yellow Jackets, who improved their record to 43-6 on the season with the victories. Aside from the final game of the title match, which saw the Yellow Jackets lead — which once ballooned to as much as nine — dwindle down to two at 21-19, Oxford was almost immaculate.
"We played well as a team,," Oxford coach Wendy McKibbin said. "The more we played the better we got."

The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the first game against Pell City en route to a 25-9 win which set the tone for the rest of the tournament. The Yellow Jackets bumped, set and dug their way to a 7-0 lead in the second game, winning 25-14. They put the Panthers away by winning 18 of the last 29 points after leading 7-4 early.

"We do that a lot," said McKibbin, referring to her team's hot.

Nothing changed for Oxford in the final against Hewitt-Trussville.

The Yellow Jackets won the last nine points in Game 1. In Game 2, they used a 6-0 run to create a 10-point gap between them and the Huskies at 15-5 before winning 25-9. Hewitt made a push in the third game, chiseling the lead to three points on two occasions and two once before Quinita Jackson's kill at 24-20 ended the game and the match emphatically.

Outside hitter Allison Schwyn led the way for the Yellow Jackets in the final with 10 kills and 10 digs. Jordan McCall filled out the stat sheet with six kills, eight digs, five blocks, 15 assists and an ace. Jackson had six kills and a block and setter Brittany Middlebrook added 15 digs. "We know we can play well." said Schwyn, who hounded the Huskies with powerful shots from the left side. "We know we can dominate if we play our best but it's good that we had to fight hard at the end to get the win and earn it."

The Yellow Jackets will face Area 16 runners-up and 2007 state finalist Grissom in the Region D tournament at 11:15 a.m. Saturday morning at Area 16 winner Huntsville High School. Grissom is ranked third in the state. Hewitt-Trussville will take on Huntsville, winners of six consecutive (two in 6A and four in 5A) state championships in the Region D tournament opener at 10 a.m.
Lena Abdoli paced Hewitt with seven kills and five digs. Katie Taylor had six kills. Lauren Bedford had 11 digs and Laura Hawkins contributed with a kill, a block seven digs and 15 assists.