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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

The Coosa Valley Rebels are one step closer to defending their AISA Class A state championship after wrapping up one of the top seeds in the Elite 8 tournament.

Coosa Valley defeated Wilcox Academy Wildcats 3-0 on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at Coosa Valley Academy to clinch its spot in the Elite 8.

From there, the Rebels went on to the Region 2 seeding tournament on Wednesday, Oct. 16 and defeated the Snook Academy Eagles and South Choctaw Academy Rebels in straight sets to claim the No. 1 seed out of Region 2.

Coosa Valley entered the postseason in dominant form thanks to a 25-6 regular season record and an undefeated mark in region play.

The Rebels also entered the postseason on a three-match win streak with victories over North River Christian, Heritage Christian and Evangel-Montgomery.

That gave Coosa Valley all of the momentum going into a must-win game against Wilcox to make the Elite 8.

The Rebels got off to a flying start in the first set and pulled away for a 25-7 win to take early control of the match.

Coosa Valley continued to use the service line to dominate the Wildcats as the hosts won the second set 25-10, putting themselves one set win away from booking a ticket to Montgomery.

The Rebels then put away the match with another win by a wide margin as they kept Wilcox in single digits en route to a 25-8 victory in the third set.

The win sealed a 3-0 sweep and put Coosa Valley in the Elite 8 once again.

Aleah Pickett and Michelle Alverson helped power the Rebels to a +.404 hitting percentage as a team. Coosa Valley also secured 31 aces over the course of the three sets which helped the team go on big runs and put the pressure on the Wildcats.

The next day on Wednesday, Oct. 16, the Rebels hit the road to South Choctaw Academy to play for their seed in the Elite 8.

Coosa Valley battled the Snook Eagles in the semifinals of the seeding tournament and used big days from Kaydence Fields and Jaylin Springfield to earn another commanding sweep.

The Rebels flew out of the gate and established a double-digit lead before going on to win the set 25-11.

Snook fought back in the second set and made it a much closer affair down the stretch. While the Eagles got within a couple of points of tying the set, Coosa Valley still secured the 25-22 win to go up 2-0 in the match.

That proved to be as close as Snook would get to a victory. The Rebels cruised in the third set and won 25-12 to seal the sweep after another dominant serving performance with 19 aces as a team.

Coosa Valley then advanced to the finals of the seeding tournament and were met with a tight challenge right out of the gate from the host South Choctaw.

The two teams were neck-and-neck in the final points of the first set, but Coosa Valley stepped up and won the opening frame 25-23.

That paved the way for an even more commanding second set where Coosa Valley claimed a 25-11 win.

Needing just one more set win to get a No. 1 seed, Coosa Valley wasted no time doing so in the third set. South Choctaw got within striking distance during the set, but Coosa Valley earned the 25-20 win to take yet another sweep in the playoffs.

As a team, Coosa Valley had 42 digs, 37 kills and 10 aces in the match, including strong performances by Chyanne Kuhn, Abigail Chaviers and Rylee Carmack.

Now, the Rebels will move on to the Elite 8 where they will face the Trinity Christian Eagles out of Opelika on Monday, Oct. 21 at 11 a.m. at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex in Montgomery. That will be followed by the semifinals that same day at 12:30 p.m. and the finals on Tuesday, Oct. 22 at 11 a.m.