1 of 38

Spain Park Jaguars defeat Thompson Warriors in county matchup on Tuesday, Aug. 30. (Reporter Photo/Lauren Sexton)

Spain Park Jaguars defeat Thompson Warriors in county matchup on Tuesday, Aug. 30. (Reporter Photo/Lauren Sexton)

By LAUREN SEXTON | Sports Reporter

HOOVER–The Spain Park Jaguars defeated the Thompson Warriors in a county matchup on Tuesday, Aug. 30. The Warriors traveled to the Jaguar’s home court to take them on in a close four-set match, Spain Park won 3-1.

Thompson and Spain Park were neck to neck during the four sets of the county match-up. The Warriors started the evening out strong by defeating the Jaguars 28 to 26. However, the Jaguars won the second, third, and fourth sets 25-21, 25-9, and 25-19.

Senior, Emily Breazeale had a strong game against the Warriors Tuesday evening. Breazeale led the Jaguars with 20 kills and 10 digs. Both seniors, Ashley Folwer and Lilly Johnson made huge contributions to Spain Park’s success in the county matchup. Defensive specialist, Folwer served 5 aces for Spain Park, and defensive specialist, Johnson had 24 assists and ten digs.

“I felt some of our younger kids stepped up and did a good job for us. I think when we travel to Tampa this weekend, we’re gonna face a lot of faster offenses and we’re gonna need to figure it out fast,” Spain Park head coach, Kellye Bown said. “I felt like the third set we were more consistent.”

Brooklyn Allison had a big night against Thompson. Allison led the Jaguars in aces and digs during the four-set match. The libero and defensive specialist had 12 digs for the evening and three aces.

“We definitely prepared so well yesterday. We brought in a sophomore middle and she did great,” Allison said about the Jaguar’s performance.”I think everyone on the team really just stepped up in those last three sets.”  

In their match against the Jaguars, the Warriors had some major takeaways about their performance.

“I thought we worked very well as a team,” said Thompson head coach, Judy Green. “I thought we served very aggressively. One of our biggest things was to slow down their best outside hitter, she’s a great player.” 

Having a fresh and new team can be difficult at the beginning of a season, but Green is confident that with each match the Warriors learn how to respond to situations from these experiences.

“I think that we’re still trying to figure out who we are and every time we get the experience to compete and have pressure put on us, we get a chance to try to figure out how we’re going to respond in that situation,” Green said.

Team relationships are an important concept for the Warriors. For Thompson’s team, coming on to the court with the right mindset is crucial for them.

“We’re such a vibrant group. We’re a very team-oriented team, and I would consider us to be very close,” Thompson player, Kaitlin Shook said. “I wouldn’t consider us a very serious team, but we know when to get business done.”

Spain Park travels to Florida this upcoming weekend to participate in the Nike Tampa Tournament. While Thompson returns home Tuesday, Sept. 6 to take on Pike Road and John Carrol in a tri-match.

More 280 Reporter

Oak Mountain wins inaugural Shelby County Duals championship

Briarwood keeps Oak Mountain at bay to beat Class 7A rival

Chelsea City Council awards funds to Chelsea High School, middle school

Mt Laurel Elementary, OMIS receive high rankings from U.S. News & World Report