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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

HOOVER – Spain Park kept its hopes alive for the top seed in the area as the Jags took a win over the Hewitt-Trussville Huskies on Thursday, Sept. 21.

The Jags beat the Huskies, 3-0, at Spain Park High School to improve to 3-1 in area play.

In the first set, Spain Park took the early advantage and established a solid lead over the Huskies that Hewitt could not overcome. The Jags eventually closed out the set and took a 25-18 win to go up 1-0 in the match.

Spain Park used the momentum it gained from the first set win to power the Jags to another strong performance in the second set. The Jags ended the set on top, which gave them a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.

Spain Park won the second set by an identical 25-18 score that it won the first set with to take control of the match.

Hewitt went into the next set hoping that the third set would not be identical to the first two and that it could take a win to stay alive against Spain Park.

That led to a closer third set where the Huskies were within striking distance as the set drew to a close, but Spain Park held strong in the end and finished the set in front.

The Jags’ 25-21 win in the third set gave Spain Park the 3-0 win in straight sets. The sweep win also helped Spain Park continue its quest for the regular season crown in area play, as the Jags remain alive for the right to host the area tournament in October.

Megan Ingersoll was the Jags’ kill leader with 13, and Reagan Gilbert was closely behind Ingersoll with 11 kills and Alexa Benda had nine kills.

Both Ingersoll and Gilbert had identical hitting percentages, as the two outside hitters hit for +.333. Benda hit for +.727 as her nine kills came from 11 swings.

Gilbert was also solid from the service line, winning five aces to lead Spain Park in the category. Cailyn Kyes and Grace Devlin both earned a pair of aces for themselves as well, while Kyes also had 32 assists.

Ingersoll also led the Jags in digs with five, and Devlin recorded three digs as well over on the defensive side. The Jags as a team also recorded four total blocks.

Spain Park will next host the HeffStrong Tournament at the Finley Center in Hoover, where the Jags will face Huntsville, Northridge, St. Paul’s and White Plains in pool play in hopes of reaching the knockout stage.

They will also travel to Homewood to face the Patriots and the Helena Huskies in a tri-match on Tuesday, Sept. 26 ahead of a crucial area match against Oak Mountain at home on Thursday, Sept. 28.