Feed The ‘Dog’ – MVP Spradley’s big finish helps top seed Alexandria finish off straight-sets victory

Jacksonville, AL – MVP Spradley’s big finish helps top seed Alexandria finish off straight-sets victory over No. 2 Oxford to win Calhoun County volleyball title.

SATURDAY, Oct. 5
Calhoun County Tournament
(At Alexandria)
No. 6 Jacksonville def. No. 11 Wellborn
No. 10 Faith Christian def. No. 7 Piedmont
No. 13 Saks def. No. 12 Jacksonville Christian
No. 5 Pleasant Valley def. Saks
No. 9 White Plains def. No. 8 Weaver
No. 3 Ohatchee def. Jacksonville
No. 1 Alexandria def. White Plains
No. 4 Donoho def. Pleasant Valley
No. 2 Oxford def. Faith Christian
Semifinals
Oxford def. Ohatchee
Alexandria def. Donoho
Oct. 7 (Jax State)
Championship
Alexandria def. Oxford, 3-0

All-tournament team

MVP
Eryn Spradley, Alexandria.
Outstanding offensive player
Ava Thomas, Oxford.
Outstanding defensive player
Charlee Parris, Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA : Spradley, Parris, McKinley Cooper, Sophie Martin.
OXFORD : Thomas, Mileah Prince, Payton Brooks.
OHATCHEE : Rebecca Henderson, Alanah FItch.
DONOHO : Sam Wakefield, Callee Taylor.
FAITH CHRISTIAN: Annalie Daniel.
PLEASANT VALLEY: Lily Henry.
WHITE PLAINS: Carli Fritts.
JACKSONVILLE: Camyn Stone.

By Joe Medley

A big arm and a big swing run in Eryn Spradley’s family, and she reminded all comers of her big sister with a big finish in Monday’s Calhoun County volleyball final.

Her rebound kill stopped Oxford’s final rally, and she went on to get five more kills as the top-seeded Valley Cubs scored eight out of nine points and 12 of the final 16 to finish off a straight-sets victory over No. 2 Oxford in Pete Mathews Coliseum, 25-23, 25-21, 25-19.

Alexandria claimed its fifth county title under seventh-year head coach Whitney Welch and second in three years, after losing to eventual champion Pleasant Valley in last year’s semifinals.

Spradley, a Tennessee Tech commit and the younger sister to Taylor Spradley, who starred on Alexandria’s 2017 state-championship team, soaked in the moment.

“It feels amazing,” Eryn Spradley said. “Losing last year to Pleasant Valley was a rough time. We went in and practiced the day after.

“This year, we knew what we wanted, and we knew we needed to get it back in our territory, and we came and got it.”

The Valley Cubs made it two victories in three matches against Oxford this season. They won a five-setter at Oxford.

Big set finishes keyed Alexandria’s straight-set triumph on Monday.

Cassidy Hartsfield’s block ended the first set after Oxford scored four consecutive points and six out of seven to close within 23-24.

Oxford scores five consecutive points to lead the second set 21-19, but Alexandria setter Sophie Martin popped a shot that landed on Oxford’s end line to break up the rally. The Valley Cubs won the next five points on Shelby Morris’ serve, and she finished with four aces.

Then came Spradley’s big finish in the third set.

With Alexandria down 13-15, Oxford popped Spradley’s kill attempt back over the next, only to see Spradley leap back up and slam the rebound into an opening in the middle for the rally launching point.

“It’s electric,” Spradley said. “They’re always going to dig me, and I love when they dig me, and it comes back over, and I get second chance to get back at it.

“After that kill, I was just like, this is our time to shine. It’s like, we’ve got to go on and finish this thing. We’re in the third set and up two, so finish big and finish strong.”

It was the first of Alexandria’s eight points out of the next nine, and the Valley Cubs kept feeding Spradley. She had six kills in those eight points.

“She’s just free-flowing, man,” Welch said. “She just really gets up there and goes, and she’s an exciting player. …

“I mean, you’ve got to give the dog the ball. You’ve got to get it to her.”

Spradley finished with 17 kills and was named the tournament’s most valuable player. Libero Charlee Parris had 15 digs and took honors as the tourney’s most outstanding defensive player, and Martin had 33 assists.

Oxford’s Ava Thomas took most outstanding offensive player with 11 kills, and Payton Brooks dealt 26 assists.

Oxford made its second finals appearance in a row. The Yellow Jackets fell to Pleasant Valley in 2023. With postseason looming, Oxford coach Wendy McKibbin used the occasion to challenge her team.

“I meant a lot to get back here,” Oxford coach Wendy McKibbin said. “But you get to this point, you’ve got to perform. It’s no different than the area tournament or regionals or state. If you’re in the big game, you’ve got to perform.

“Good teams can find a way to get there. Great teams find a way to execute and get to the next level. We’ve got to work on getting better so we’re a great team by next week, when we have the area tournament.”

Photo gallery by Joe Medley

Live match updates

FIRST SET

–Timeout, Oxford, with Alexandria leading 18-16. Lots of momentum swings.
–Timeout, Oxford, with Alexandria leading 21-17.
–Timeout, Alexandria, leading 24-21, but Oxford has scored four of the last five points. Before that, Alexandria scored five in a row on Sophie Martin’s serve.
–Timeout, Alexandria, up 24-23, but Oxford has scored the last four.
–Cassidy Hartsfield’s block scores set point.
ALEXANDRIA, 25-23 (1-0)

SECOND SET

–Timeout, Oxford. Alexandria leads 10-7.
–Timeout, Oxford. Alexandria leads 19-16.
–Timeout, Alexandria, tied 19-19.
–Timeout, Alexandria, after Oxford scores five in a row to lead 21-19.
–Martin hits a baseline shot to break up the Oxford rally, and Alexandria scores the final six points on Shelby Morris’ serve.
ALEXANDRIA 25-21 (2-0)

THIRD SET

–Timeout, Alexandria. Oxford has scored the last three to lead 15-13, two on Payton Brooks’ serve.
–Timeout, Oxford, tied 15-15. Eryn Spradley gets a second-chance kill after Oxford pops her first one back over.
–Timeout, Oxford. Alexandria has scored seven of the last eight points to lead 20-16. Spradley with five kills in that stretch, and Martin just blocked one for a point.
–Alexandria finishes off a straight-sets victory.
ALEXANDRIA 25-19 (3-0)

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