Thompson kicks off year with tri-match wins over Calera, Sylacauga

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

SYLACAUGA – The Thompson Warriors started out the season in strong fashion as they took down both the Calera Eagles and Sylacauga Aggies in a tri-match at Sylacauga High School on Thursday, Aug. 23.

Coach Judy Green’s team made it through both matches without dropping a set, earning a pair of 2-0 wins ahead of the Juanita Boddie Tournament in Hoover over the weekend.

However, that didn’t mean the Warriors weren’t challenged throughout the afternoon.

In the season opener against the Aggies, Thompson faced a stiff test from Sylacauga as the home side took the fight to its Class 7A opposition, with both sets going down to the wire.

The first set of the season ended up coming down to extra points as the teams were tied at 24 points apiece. With the pressure building, the Warriors put away both of the next two points to seal the 26-24 win and go up 1-0 in the match.

“We shook off some nerves and settled in well for the matches,” Thompson coach Judy Green said. “Loved we got that 26-24 set one win in the first match.”

Sylacauga kept it close in the second set as well and came within a couple of points of taking the win. Thompson held just a slim 24-23 lead on match point with the threat of another round of extra points looming if the Aggies won the point.

That did not come to fruition as the Warriors held strong on match point to take the second set 25-23 and earn a 2-0 sweep over Sylacauga.

Afterwards, Thompson engaged in a county battle on a neutral site with a matchup against Calera, a Class 6A super regional side from just a season ago.

While the match against the Aggies was a tightly-fought battle, the Warriors quickly pulled away for a double-digit lead over the Eagles in the first set and never looked back.

Thompson ended up winning the opening set by 14 points, taking a 25-11 win to continue their momentum ahead of the second set.

The Warriors kept taking the fight to the Eagles with a chance to take the match, and in the end, they also won the second set by double digits.

The 25-15 second-set win sealed the 2-0 sweep, the second such sweep of the day for Thompson to take them to 2-0 on the season.

Green complimented her team’s passing and the play of both Ava Roberson and Maddy Henderson, two sophomores who will be called upon in big moments this season.

The Warriors will now face some of the Southeast’s best teams at the Juanita Boddie in Hoover’s Finley Center on Aug. 23 and 24. Thompson will take on Athens and Gardendale in pool play on Friday at 6 and 8 p.m., respectively, before facing Enterprise at noon on Saturday.

As for Calera, it will have the weekend off before its home opener against another county foe, the Montevallo Bulldogs, on Monday, Aug. 26 at 6 p.m.

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