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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

Four of the county’s brightest stars will take the stage this summer in one of the biggest high school volleyball showcases in the state.

Chelsea’s Lauren Buchanan, Spain Park’s Alexa Benda and Pelham’s Camryn McMinn and Londyn Wynn were selected to the 2024 North-South All-Star Volleyball teams on Tuesday, March 5.

The annual game spotlights the top rising seniors in the state of Alabama. Buchanan and Benda will represent the North while Wynn and McMinn will take the court for the South.

As an outside hitter for the Hornets, Buchanan led her team in kills with 526, which ranked second in the county and trailed Spain Park’s Megan Ingersoll by only six kills.

The Texas Tech commit also impacted the game across the court with 218 digs, 35 blocks and 78 assists to help her earn spots on the 7A All-State First Team and All-Area team.

She will be joined on the North team by Alexa Benda of Spain Park. The junior middle blocker earned a team-high 49 blocks to help shut down possessions for the Jags.

Benda also had 158 kills and 10 aces while earning an All-County Honorable Mention and leading the Jags to an Elite Eight appearance.

The South team will have a pair of Pelham standouts after the Panthers made a run to the area title and super regionals in 2023.

McMinn had a stellar year from the outside hitter spot, earning one of the top kill totals in all of Class 6A with 372 kills. She had 282 digs to save possessions for the Panthers on the road to super regionals.

She took 43 aces and 38 blocks to round out a 6A All-State First Team resume, earned a spot on the All-County First Team for the second season in a row and took home finalist honors for the Shelby County Player of the Year.

Wynn was an All-County Honorable Mention in 2023 after she earned 305 kills and took 260 digs as a strong two-way player for Pelham.

She also had 63 aces and 38 blocks as she secured a spot on the 6A All-State Second Team as an outside hitter, and she will join her Panthers teammate McMinn on the front row of the South All-Star team.

The eighth annual North-South All-Star Volleyball game is scheduled for the week of July 15-19 in Montgomery. The AHSAA will announce the date and time of the game at a later date.