Staff Reports

HOOVER – Cherokee County High School volleyball coach Tiffany Rieger said her team has been focused on making it back to the Class 4A Elite 8 ever since their season ended last year.

On Wednesday, they made sure to secure a return berth to the Birmingham CrossPlex.

The Lady Warriors opened North Super Regional play by sweeping East Lawrence (25-11, 25-16, 25-20) and St. John Paul II (26-24, 25-23, 25-10) to clinch their second straight state tournament appearance, but there’s still more work to be done on Thursday.

Cherokee County (42-13) takes on Madison County in the regional semifinals at 1:30 p.m.

“Today the determination was there, and it was absolutely a total team effort,” Rieger said. “We had several players step up and make some great plays, both offensively and defensively. Our bench was loud and full of encouragement, and our fans are the best around.

“We are thankful for the opportunity to advance to the Elite 8, but we also realize we are not finished here yet either. We hope to come out and put ourselves in a good position going into next week.”

On Wednesday, Macy Lea accumulated 51 assists, 16 digs, three kills and four aces for the Lady Warriors. Raegan Garmany garnered nine kills, six digs, five digs and two blocks. Lilly Shaw contributed nine kills and three blocks.

Ava Haygood delivered 17 kills, 13 digs, a block and an assist. Jolie Alexander added 11 kills, five digs, five aces and three blocks. Ellisan Givens posted 27 digs, nine aces, six assists and a kill.

Nevaeh Gaidurgis collected 15 kills, 19 digs, two aces, an assist and a block. Jesslyn Hincy had 9 digs and two aces. Libby Curry finished with three aces.