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The Chelsea Hornets saw their 2024 volleyball season come to an end in a heartbreaking loss to Spanish Fort on Tuesday, Oct. 29, ending a magical run to the team’s first ever semifinal appearance at the volleyball state tournament. (Reporter photos/Andrew Simonson)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Publisher

BIRMINGHAM – As an ace off the Spanish Fort serve hit the ground inside the Birmingham CrossPlex on Tuesday, Oct. 29, the season came to an end for the Chelsea Hornets, but not before history was made.

The Hornets, who were in their first state tournament appearance since the 2019 season, had emotions overcome them as they gathered following a 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-21) loss to the Toros in a top-10 battle, but that didn’t diminish the historic path forged by this year’s team.

Less than a week off of winning a Class 6A South Region Championship in which they dropped just one set in four matches, the Hornets carried that momentum into the 6A State Tournament by adding one more chapter to the history books.

In the opening match against Cullman, Chelsea came out in its dominant form and picked up a 3-0 (25-18, 25-10, 25-17) sweep that punched a ticket to the semifinals of the state tournament for the first time in school history, giving reason for celebration.

That moment is one that this year’s team gets to carry with them forever as the first, while the senior class has set a new standard for a good core of future players.

In the semifinal matchup, the Hornets squared off against No. 3 Spanish Fort in a top-10 battle for a spot in the Class 6A State Championship, a game Chelsea won a week earlier by a score of 3-1 (25-27, 25-23, 25-17, 27-25).

This time around, the Toros, who took the opening set in the previous match, came out on fire in the early portion of the elimination matchup.

They stormed out of the gate with an 8-2 run that eventually turned into an early 10-3 advantage.

Chelsea, however, continued to show the fight that it had all season against the top teams in the state and put together a run of its own.

Trailing 15-5, the Hornets used a 9-2 run to quickly make things interesting and draw within three at 17-14.

That three-point deficit held up until 18-15, but that’s when the Toros heated up again, closing the opening set out with a 7-1 run to put together a 25-16 opening set.

Chelsea had faced a similar moment in regionals the week prior, trailing the third-ranked team in the state 1-0 in the match, but the Hornets stormed back with three consecutive sets to pick up the win.

The Toros, however, were determined to prevent that from happening this time around.

Like the opening set, they stormed out to a big lead with a quick 9-3 run that gave them the early cushion.

Chelsea once again fought back to within five points on multiple occasions, the latest being at 19-14, but Spanish Fort finished off the rest of the set with a 6-2 run to cement a 2-0 advantage.

That put the Hornets in a difficult situation of needing three consecutive set wins to stay alive.

With their season on the line, the team’s chemistry and fight shined through in a hard-fought third set that was much more tightly contested than the previous two.

In a more back-and-forth battle, the Hornets battled toe-to-toe all the way up to a 21-21 tie late in the set.

However, with stress-free play in a comfortable 2-0 lead, the Toros were able to take advantage and win the next four points in a row to put the finishing touches on the sweep.

With the loss, Chelsea’s season came to an end, but the historic season will live on in Hornets’ history, while seniors Payton Walker, Kaleigh Hall, Lauren Buchanan, Lila Willett, Cara Belcher and Presley Durham have set a foundation for the future of the program.

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