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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

After going 1-2 in tournament action at Spanish Fort over the weekend, the Chelsea Hornets rolled right into the start of their week with two sweeps in as many days.

Chelsea defeated the Pell City Panthers and Homewood Patriots both by a score of 3-0, downing the Panthers on the road on Monday, Sept. 30 before taking down the Patriots at Homewood High School on Tuesday, Oct. 1.

The Hornets made a big statement to start out their match with Pell City as they opened up a double-digit lead and cruised to victory in the first set.

Chelsea’s 25-12 opening-set win established the visitors as the early favorite in the match and set the tone for the rest of the proceedings.

While the Panthers made the second set closer than the first, the Hornets still remained in control down in the final points.

That gave Chelsea a 25-16 win and a 2-0 advantage in the match over Pell City.

From there, the Hornets got back to their dominant ways that they showed in the first set as they saw out the road victory.

Chelsea’s 25-13 win in the third set sealed the 3-0 sweep to open up the week.

After that, the Hornets returned home the next night as they battled the Homewood Patriots in another Class 6A matchup.

Homewood proved to be a more competitive match for Chelsea as the visitors remained in striking distance during the first two sets.

The Hornets held off the Patriots down the stretch in the opening set and went on to win the set 25-20, and they continued to do the same in the second set.

The following set was even closer than the first as just two points separated Chelsea from Homewood as the hosts reached set point.

However, just like the first, the Hornets held strong and took the win, this time by a score of 25-22.

Now with a 2-0 match lead in its back pocket, Chelsea had little problems securing the victory from there, establishing another double-digit advantage and using that to put away the match.

The Hornets won the third set 25-15 to seal their second 3-0 in two days.

Over the two matches, Lauren Buchanan totaled 35 kills, 13 digs and four aces. Sophia Bagley had the most digs on the team with 14 and also earned a team-high eight aces.

Alexis Rudolph claimed 15 kills and six aces, Lila Willett also had six aces, Claire Casey secured 10 digs and Cara Belcher earned 55 assists and nine digs.

Chelsea will have the rest of the week to rest up before an even busier stretch of three games in three days.

First, the Hornets will face the Mountain Brook Spartans on Monday, Oct. 7 at 6 p.m. at home. Then, they will play their final area match of the regular season against the Helena Huskies on Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 5 p.m. at Helena High School.

They will then finish up with a rematch against Homewood at home on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 5:30 p.m.