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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

CHELSEA – In an all-county affair at Chelsea High School, the Chelsea Hornets emerged unscathed from their home tri-match.

Chelsea swept both the Briarwood Christian Lions and Calera Eagles 2-0 on Thursday, Sept. 26, while Briarwood topped Calera 2-0 to walk away with a win.

The Hornets and Eagles both entered the match looking to bounce back from five-set area losses, Chelsea’s to Spain Park and Calera’s to Benjamin Russell. The Lions, on the other hand, were fresh off another area sweep over Central-Clay County.

In the Hornets’ match against the Briarwood, they prevailed in a tight first set before cruising to the win in the second set.

Chelsea kept the Lions at arm’s length in the first set despite Briarwood’s attempts to make the set close, and the hosts then won the set 25-17 to take the lead in the match.

With the Hornets now in front, they used their momentum to take a large lead in the second set and see out the win.

Chelsea took the second set 25-11 to seal the sweep in the county matchup.

For the Lions, Leighton Hendley earned three kills and a dig, Julie Roberts took three kills and two digs and Clara Crawford had two kills and a dig.

The Hornets had an even more dominant showing against Calera to win both legs of the tri-match.

Chelsea used a big run to pull away for a commanding lead, and the team went on to win the first set 25-5.

With a 20-point win in their back pocket, the Hornets continued to control the second set even as the Eagles made it a closer matchup on the scoreboard.

In the end, Chelsea wrapped up the 2-0 match victory with a 25-16 win in the second set.

While Briarwood dropped its match against the Hornets, the team did claim a win over the Calera Eagles.

The Lions got the better of the Eagles in the first set and grabbed the upper hand in the match thanks to a 25-17 win in the opening frame.

From there, Briarwood won the second set by an even wider margin, sealing the sweep with a 25-15 victory.

Mia Wilson earned two kills, an ace, 16 assists and three digs. Roberts secured five kills, seven aces and four digs and Crawford got four kills, an ace and three digs.

Chelsea will be in tournament action over the weekend in Spanish Fort on Saturday, Sept. 28.

Briarwood and Calera both have the weekend off before area showdowns on Tuesday, Oct. 1. The Lions will host the Sylacauga Aggies at 6 p.m. and the Eagles will welcome the Benjamin Russell Wildcats to Calera High School at 5:30 p.m.