By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

BIRMINGHAM–The Helena Huskies volleyball team had their season end in a tough way as they dropped a hard fought four game match to the Guntersville Wildcats in the quarterfinals of the AHSAA Class 5A Volleyball Championships.

The Wildcats defeated Helena by a score of 27-25, 20-25, 25-20, 25-23 with the first and last games of the match coming down to the wire.

In the first game, Helena was down throughout and at one point was down 20-16.

The Huskies kept fighting and pulled back within a point at 23-22 but Guntersville prevented the Helena comeback, finishing the first game with a 27-25 victory.

Helena would tie the match 1-1 winning the second game 25-20 to regain momentum but the Wildcats continued to string together points in the third and fourth games that proved to be too much for the Huskies.

Helena head coach Amanda Lewis said she was proud of how far the team has come in just two years.

“It’s one of those things where we’ve been a school for two years so there’s a lot to say for this team,” said Lewis. “These girls kind of came from a melting pot to form the Helena volleyball team and they’ve done a great job.”

Macy Glassco led the way for the Wildcats with 11 kills, while Tori Bentley also added 10 kills.

Virginia Gaston finished the match with 11 digs and 35 assists for Guntersville.

When asked what were some of the biggest takeaways from making it to the Elite Eight Championships, Lewis said now the girls understand that they can play on the big stage.

“Really it’s just getting the girls to understand that they belong,” said Lewis. “Getting all of the jitters out from playing under the lights with the best teams in the state and their division and they just need to understand they belong here. We won the games we were supposed to win to get here.”

With the win, Guntersville improved their record to 43-25 and will take on the top seeded Lawrence County Lady Red Devils in the Final Four of the Class 5A Volleyball Championships.

Helena finished their season with a record of 26-13.