AHSAA SUB-STATE SCHEDULE

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NOTICE:
We will not be broadcasting tonight's SUB-STATE Match due to lack of an advertiser to pay for the AHSAA fee.

The Lady Raiders will take on New Hope Thursday at 6:30 pm at Good Hope.  This is the SUB-STATE MATCH with the winner advancing to the 2009 ELITE EIGHT STATE TOURNAMENT at Pelham on October 28-29.

GOOD LUCK LADY RAIDERS!!!!

CLASS 3A

Match 1: Dadeville at Bayside Academy, Daphne, 3 p.m.

Match 2: Straughn at Trinity Presbyterian, Montgomery, 4 p.m.

Match 3: Dale County at Montgomery Academy, 2 p.m.

Match 4: Cordova at Cottage Hill Christian, Mobile, 5 p.m.
Match 5: New Hope at Good Hope, 6:30 p.m.

Match 6: Danville at Madison Academy, Madison, 6 p.m.

Match 7: Piedmont at Catholic, Huntsville, 5:30 p.m.

Match 8: Holly Pond at Pleasant Valley, 4:30 p.m.


Michael Cummings Cullman Times Article:

Four local teams headed to sub-state

By Michael A. Cummings

Rosemary Brown is nervous.

No joke.

After all the winning, after all the postseason appearances, the Good Hope High volleyball coach still has a case of the butterflies.

"I'm excited, but I'm nervous," said Brown, whose Raiders will host New Hope on Thursday for the right to advance to the AHSAA State Tournament in Pelham. "Right now, all the teams left are good."

Three other local teams are still alive in the playoffs, and have chances to clinch berths in the Elite 8 on Thursday. Addison hosts Fyffe in Class 2A, Holly Pond travels to Pleasant Valley in 3A and Fairview visits Jacksonville in 4A.

Playing for a berth in the state tournament is good reason to have a case of the jitters, but if anyone knows about postseason volleyball, it's Brown.

Since the turn of the millennium, Brown's Good Hope teams have been a mainstay in the Class 3A playoffs, making several runs to the Elite 8.

But the last time the Raiders made the trip was in 2005, their second straight appearance in Pelham.

Good Hope got this far by finishing first in the Class 3A, Region C tournament last weekend at Walter Welborn High in Anniston. The Raiders defeated Winfield and Piedmont in the opening rounds before taking a five-game thriller over Pleasant Valley in the championship.

Holly Pond took the third seed out of Region D by beating New Hope 3-0 in the consolation game. The Broncos beat Crossville in the first round before dropping a match to Madison Academy in the semifinals.

In the Class 4A, Region D tournament, Fairview upset Plainview in the opening round before dropping matches to Lawrence County and Brooks.

In the Class 2A, Region D tournament, Addison defeated Clements, Hatton and Lexington - last year's state champion - without losing a single game. It was the kind of dominant performance Bulldogs coach Pam Wilkins had been looking for.

"The No. 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7 teams in 2A were all in our regional," she said. "So our region was really tough to come out of."

Addison is looking to build on an extended run of success in volleyball. The Bulldogs won three straight state championships from 2003 to 2005 and have made the state finals six of the last seven seasons.

So how do they stay motivated year-in and year-out?

"I think we just have a good group of girls from good families," said Wilkins. "Our parents are key. They're really supportive of the girls."

Two other local teams were eliminated in the regional round. West Point lost a first-round match at the Class 4A, Region C tournament against Jacksonville, while St. Bernard dropped its first game in the Class 1A, Region D tournament to Marion County.

Michael Cummings can be reached by email at michaelc@cullmantimes.com or by phone at 734-2131, ext. 258.