E.A. Sports Today

PV draws No. 1

Undefeated Lady Raiders draw top seed in county volleyball tournament, defending champion Oxford No. 2

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By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today

OHATCHEE — There’s a lot to be said for being undefeated.

Pleasant Valley may not have played the depth of schedule within the county that defending champion Oxford has, but the Lady Raiders have beaten everyone they’ve played and thus has been awarded the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Calhoun County Volleyball Tournament.

The Lady Raiders, 18-0 and 9-0 against county opponents, also draws a first-round bye in the tournament that starts Oct. 1 at Jacksonville High School and concludes with the finals match Oct. 3 at Jacksonville State.

“That’s an honor to be seeded first, especially with the great programs that are here in the county,” PV coach Dana Bryant said.

Oxford (12-7, 5-1 county) is the No. 2 seed. The Lady Jackets, who beat PV in a spirited final last year, has wins over No. 3 Jacksonville (11-7, 2-1) and No. 4 Alexandria (16-5, 3-2). The highest-seeded county tournament team PV has played is No. 5 Donoho (11-6, 7-5).

Still, the county coaches thought so much of PV’s start they awarded the Lady Raiders 10 of 15 first-place votes, including Bryant’s. The remainder of the first-place votes were split between Oxford and Jacksonville. PV was voted no lower than fourth on any ballot.

“Being undefeated obviously played a part in getting where we were seeded,” Bryant said.

The Lady Raiders have won 40 of the 42 sets they have played this season.

“Nine-and-oh in county, 18-and-oh, perfect season so far; they’ve got a good team,” Oxford coach Wendy McKibbin said. “I thought it (the seedings) went pretty much as planned. It’s like I’ve said before: The County is a big deal to everyone, it’s what team shows up and plays all day on Saturday. When it comes the day of the tournament rankings don’t mean anything, you’ve got to play.”

The other tournament seeds were, in order, Faith Christian, White Plains, Saks, Weaver, Sacred Heart, Wellborn, Piedmont, Ohatchee, JCA and Anniston.

Weaver was voted the top seed in the junior high county tournament that starts Sept. 22 at Saks.

2016 CALHOUN COUNTY VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT
Oct. 1, at Jacksonville HS
(overall record, in-county record as of Sept. 14)

First-round games
No. 8 Saks (11-6, 3-4) vs. No. 9 Weaver (7-6, 4-3), Court 1, 9 a.m.
No. 5 Donoho (11-6, 7-5) vs. No. 12 Piedmont (4-11, 1-7), Court 2, 9 a.m.
No. 4 Alexandria (16-5, 3-2) vs. No. 13 Ohatchee (1-10, 1-5), Court 3, 9 a.m.
No. 3 Jacksonville (11-7, 2-1) vs. No. 14 JCA (2-3, 1-1), Court 1, 10:30 a.m.
No. 6 Faith Christian (11-9, 9-4) vs. No. 11 Wellborn (4-8, 1-7), Court 2, 10:30 a.m.
No. 7 White Plains (8-5, 5-5) vs. No. 10 Sacred Heart (6-11, 3-5), Court 3, 10:30 a.m.
No. 2 Oxford (12-7, 5-1) vs. No. 15 Anniston (0-5, 0-2), Court 3, noon
Second-round games
Saks-Weaver winner vs. No. 1 Pleasant Valley (18-0, 9-0), Court 1, noon
Donoho-Piedmont winner vs. Alexandria-Ohatchee winner, Court 2, noon
Jacksonville-JCA winner vs. Faith-Wellborn winner, Court 1, 1:30 p.m.
White Plains-Sacred Heart winner vs. Oxford-Anniston winner, Court 2, 1:30 p.m.
Semifinals
Upper bracket, Court 1, 3 p.m.
Lower bracket, Court 2, 3 p.m.

Championship Game
Oct. 3, at Jacksonville State
Upper bracket winner vs. Lower bracket winner, 6 p.m.

CALHOUN COUNTY JUNIOR HIGH TOURNAMENT
Sept. 22-24, at Saks HS
(Double elimination)
Tournament seeds

1. Weaver (19-4, 17-2); 2. Faith Christian (16-2, 14-2); 3. Alexandria (16-9, 14-4); 4. Wellborn (11-5, 10-4); 5. Pleasant Valley (13-6, 9-6); 6. Donoho (9-10, 9-10); 7. Sacred Heart (11-17, 10-16); 8. Saks (7-10, 4-10); 9. White Plains (5-13, 5-13); 10. Jacksonville (4-8, 3-8); 11. Oxford (5-8, 3-6); 12. Piedmont (3-12, 2-7); 13. Ohatchee (3-12, 2-12); 14. JCA (2-0, 1-0); 15. Anniston (0-0, 0-0).

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