Briarwood sweeps Montevallo in county battle

Published 7:58 pm Monday, September 2, 2024

By Andrew Simonson

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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

NORTH SHELBY – The Briarwood Christian Lions and Montevallo Bulldogs squared off for the first time as fellow Class 5A sides on Thursday, Aug. 29, and round one went to the Lions.

Briarwood swept Montevallo 3-0 to earn the win over its county foe.

Both teams entered the matchup fresh off wins after the Lions defeated both Leeds and Altamont in a home tri-match on Tuesday, Aug. 27 and the Bulldogs beat Jemison in their area opener that same evening.

Briarwood established itself as the early favorite in the matchup as it built up a lead that proved to be enough to take the first set win.

The Lions’ 25-17 win in the opening set gave them a 1-0 lead in the match, one that they would never relinquish en route to another victory.

That didn’t mean that it was easy from there as Montevallo made the second set closer than the first and got within a few points of the lead near the end of the set.

Ultimately though, Briarwood held on and took the 25-20 win in the second set, putting it one step closer to a match victory.

The Lions saved their best performance of the match for last as they rolled to a dominant third set victory.

Briarwood’s commanding lead resulted in a 25-12 win in the third set to secure the straight-set victory for the home side.

The Lions lone senior Mia Wilson dominated from the service line with 13 aces across the three-set win. The setter also added 17 assists on the evening.

Sophomore Julie Roberts led the offense with nine kills. Leighton Hendley and Peyton Gibbons both had solid offensive and defensive performances in the game as Hendley earned six kills and a team-high five digs and Gibbons secured five kills and two blocks.

With the result, Briarwood moved to 7-4 on the season while Montevallo is now 5-4.

The Lions will kick off the week with a tough test as they battle Vestavia Hills on the road on Tuesday, Sept. 3 at 6 p.m. They will then travel to Helena to take on their former area foes the Huskies on Thursday, Sept. 5 at 6 p.m.

As for the Bulldogs, they will have a pair of road matchups as well, first at Isabella on Tuesday, Sept. 3 at 6:30 p.m. before facing Selma in an area match on Thursday, Sept. 5 at 6 p.m.

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