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The Chelsea Hornets had an unbelievable season come to an end on Thursday, Oct. 25, against No. 1 Spanish Fort. (Reporter photo/Keith McCoy)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor

MONTGOMERY – It was never easy for the Chelsea Hornets in 2018. Despite their 40-plus wins, the Hornets were challenged each week of the season with a difficult region featuring top-8 teams in Helena and Pelham.

But the Hornets battled through and made a trip to the super regional tournament in Montgomery on Thursday, Oct. 25, where the path didn’t get any easier.

The Hornets went into the day’s action at the Crampton Bowl’s MultiPlex knowing they would likely see No. 1 Spanish Fort in the second round needing to get past the Toros to punch their ticket to state.

That’s exactly how the cards stacked, as Chelsea beat Opelika with ease to open the tournament and Spanish Fort breezed by Park Crossing, giving up just 24 combined points. A recap from Chelsea’s first-round matchup as well as the second round matchup with the No. 1 team in the state are both below. 

Second round

Without one of their leading playmakers up front in Sarah Moore, who got injured against the Pelham Panthers in the area championship, Chelsea had its work cut out against one of the tallest teams in the state, as well as the best team in the state, and it showed early on, but didn’t end without some fight.

Spanish Forth jumped out to a 10-5lead in the opening set, but Chelsea was within striking distance until the Toros reeled off a strong run to eventually take a 19-10 lead, their largest lead of the set.

The Hornets never got closer than eight the rest of the way as Spanish Fort went on to close out the opening set by a final score of 25-15 to take a 1-0 lead.

That was just a confidence boost for the Toros, who kept up the torrid pace with their much taller front line in the second set as well.

Eventually Spanish Fort went on to win the second set by a final score of 25-11 thanks to clean sets allowing for easy kill opportunities, as well as the height of the Toros’ players blocking several Chelsea kill attempts.

With the Hornets now possibly facing their last set of the season, and needing to win three consecutive sets to advance to the state tournament, they came out battling in the third set.

Chelsea had a different look of determination and flew out to a 6-0 lead to start the set.

Spanish Fort had built up its lead and wasn’t just going to fold and let Chelsea come back without a fight, as the Toros went on aa 12-5 run to quickly snatch the lead at 12-11.

The next couple of points were tightly contested, as the two teams battled to a 13-13 tie shortly after.

That’s when Spanish Fort turned the pressure back up eventually jumping out to a 20-15 lead, putting Chelsea in a hole.

The Hornets, however, continued to show fight and pulled the deficit back to three points at 21-18 with a 3-1 run.

Chelsea pulled to within three again at 23-20, but with Spanish Fort being just two points away from a spot in the Sweet 16, the No. 1 team turned up the pressure and closed the final two points out to end the Hornets’ hope of a state tourney berth.

It was a special season for the Hornets, who come close to 50 wins on the year, but luck of the draw unfortunately set them up in a tough path.

It was still a run that continues to set a high standard of excellence for future Chelsea volleyball teams.

First round

While the Hornets missed out on a trip to the super regionals a season ago, it’s something they desperately wanted to be a part of and made a goal coming into the season.

With that passion burning, Chelsea came ready to play and showed it in the first round of the playoffs with a 3-0 sweep of Opelika.

Early in the first set, you got the feeling that Chelsea was prepared for the big stage, jumping out to a quick 3-0 lead behind Victoria Schmer’s serve, who ended up leading the match off with an ace.

Opelika battled back to get within one point at 5-4, which became the story of the first 12 points of the match.

Chelsea jumped back up big by a score of 12-5, but then the Bulldogs reeled off a 5-0 run to get within two points again.

The Hornets, however, went on to find a rhythm shortly after led again by the serve of Schmer, who started the run with another ace. They went on to close the set out with a 13-5 run to win by a final of 25-15 and take a 1-0 advantage in the match.

While that first set was close for a while, you could see Chelsea’s confidence grow with each point and that propelled the Hornets moving forward.

They carried that confidence into the second set and saw it grow even more with a quick 6-0 start.

Chelsea eventually started the set on a 14-3 run and never looked back, only allowing seven more points during the set for a 25-10 victory and a 2-0 edge in the match.

The third set was a mere formality with how well the Hornets were playing, and they showed why by jumping out to a 15-5 lead very quickly.

With their season on the line, the Bulldogs were just never able to get anything going in the third set, as Chelsea went on to pull off a 25-8 victory to finish the clean sweep and advance.

Photos available at Shelbycountyphotos.com

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