Story By Heath Hambrick
The Class-4A Area 16 tournament at Plainview on Wednesday night was a lengthy affair, with the championship match concluding just after 11 p.m. The Class-4A No. 5 Plainview Lady Bears battled back after losing the first set to secure a 3-1 victory over the Madison County Tigers, ultimately winning the area championship.
The Lady Bears fell in the first set 25-19. The Tigers raced out to a 7-1 lead before a Plainview timeout was taken by Bears coach Skyla Gray. The Lady Bears battled back to get to within two points on two different occasions, but were unable to pull ahead of Madison County.
In the second set, the Lady Bears came out on fire, building a 13-3 lead. The Tigers of Madison County roared back, cutting the lead to two points at 18-16. Kayla Feeney made two crucial plays that energized the Plainview team, allowing the Lady Bears to secure a 25-18 set victory and even the match at 1-1.
Madison County jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the third set before the Lady Bears were able to get their feet under them and battle back to tie the set at 5-5. The set remained tight throughout the middle portion of the set. Madison County took a 20-17 lead, but the Bears answered and scored five straight points to take a 24-20 lead and hold on for a 25-22 set win.
In the fourth set, the Plainview Lady Bears needed to win the set to end the match and take the area title. Just like the previous set, this one remained tight throughout the entire set. The biggest lead was 4 when Plainview had a 7-3 lead early on. During the set, Plainview senior Faith Odom reached the 1000 kill mark for her career. The Lady Bears held on for a 25-22 set victory to take the match and the area title.
“After coming out flat in the first set, we needed to have better energy in the second set, and I thought we did that. I’m proud of the fight that the girls had today, battling back in each set against a good team in Madison County,” said Plainview Head Coach Skyla Gray. “I’m really proud of Faith getting her 1000 kill; she has been working hard to get to that milestone.”
Coach Gray picked up her wins 402 and 403 for her career on Wednesday night. Win number 400 came last Saturday in the County tournament against Fyffe.
Plainview (34-14) will play Thursday, October 23, at 9:45 a.m. at the Finley Center in Hoover. The Lady Bears will play the runner-up from Area 10, which includes Fayette County, who host the area tournament, Hamilton, and Haleyville.
