WORTH IT: ACA wins trip to state volleyball tourney after long wait
Alabama Christian Academy will make its first trip to the state tourney after a four-set win over Flomaton on Thursday. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
The wait was certainly worth it.
Alabama Christian Academy, starting its second-round regional volleyball match nearly three hours late, made the most of the challenge, defeating Flomaton 25-16, 25-23, 23-25 and 25-21 to advance to the state tournament for the first time since 2018.
“It feels amazing, especially with this group of girls,” senior Taegan Scott said. “We worked really hard this summer and it’s nice to know it pays off to where we wanted to be and we reached our goal.”
Third-year coach Amber Hogan steered the Eagles into the super regional in 2022, but they were promptly bumped out of the postseason by St. Luke’s. The Eagles returned in 2023, but didn’t play very well in a first-round loss to Walter Wellborn.
This time, Hogan’s Eagles tuned up for the super regional with a first-round romp over Southside-Selma, then weathered a rough stretch in the second and third sets to defeat the Hurricanes.
“It’s huge,” Hogan said. “When we had our team retreat this summer, they said that was their goal, to go to state, and they believe in each other. They knew it was not going to be easy, but you just have to learn to handle ‘hard’ well. This is just a credit to these girls. I have a great group of seniors who are selfless and put the team first and it makes a difference.”
The last time the Eagles won an area championship, in 2018, they won the consolation super regional game over Trinity to finish third. In the state tournament, ACA reached the semifinals before losing to Providence Christian, then went through three years of losing in the area tournament and not qualifying for postseason play.
“It feels amazing, especially with this group,” setter Kaylee Rudolph said. “During the offseason, we’ve been working for this, trying to get to this position. It feels great to finally be here.”
Against the Hurricanes, ACA quickly built a substantial lead, but then struggled to stay in rhythm throughout the remainder of the match.
“You could tell they wanted this so bad,” Hogan observed, “and sometimes when that’s the case, you can tell as it kept going forward, toward the end of the second set, we kept the lead but we allowed them to grasp it. In the third set, it’s there, it’s on the horizon, you can taste it but you start playing really, really tight. That’s what I kept reiterating in the huddle, quit focusing on the outcome, just play point for point.”
ACA (17-17) will return to the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl on Friday to play two games for seeding in next week’s state tournament, beginning with a regional semifinal matchup against one of 3A’s top teams, Mobile Christian.
“I’m excited about that,” Hogan said. “You’ve got a team right now that everyone is predicting to win state, so we’re able to see them before the state tournament, to see them in the semifinals to see how we do. I think the pressure of getting to state is now off our shoulders. I’m going to encourage them to just play ball, play loose and see what you’re capable of.”