By Chris McCarthy/Editor
For the third year in a row under head coach Anna Johnson, Southside High won the Etowah County Schools volleyball tournament on Tuesday in Walnut Grove.
The No. 1 seed Lady Panthers (29-8-1) defeated No. 3 seed West End, 25-19, 25-19 in the championship match at West End High School.
Southside opened the tournament on Monday with a 25-14, 25-17 victory over Hokes Bluff, then beat West End, 25-19,21-25, 15-7, in the semifinal round on Tuesday.
For the Lady Panthers, Tournament MVP Cassie Davis had 52 assists, three digs, two blocks and an ace.
Jada Thompson finished with 22 kills, three digs and two blocks, while Claire Graves collected 13 kills and 10 blocks.
“I’ve got a really good group of girls that play well together,” said Johnson. “It’s all them; I had nothing to do with it. I just put them out there and they play.”
The host Lady Patriots (18-21, 4-0) began the tournament with a 25-11, 25-12 victory over Gaston, then posted a 25-7, 25-20 win over Sardis.
After losing to Southside, West End beat Glencoe, 25-19, 26-24, to reach the championship match.
“My girls didn’t play tonight like I hoped they would have,” said West End head coach Shellie Elrod. “Southside did a great job; they had the intensity that we didn’t match. But our girls will be fine. We’re just a little disappointed right now.”
For the tournament for West End, Hannah Carter had 31 kills and two blocks; Kaitlyn Waldrop 77 assists, nine aces and three kills; Brittany Self had 28 kills, three aces and six digs; Payten Butts had 11 kills, six aces and six digs Tamia Timmons had nine kills, five aces and seven digs; Amber Nash had seven kills, two blocks and seven aces; and Dannah Browning had five aces and 12 digs.
In other tournament action, Glencoe lost to Hokes Bluff before beating Sardis and Hokes Bluff in the playback bracket.
Joining Davis on the All-Tournament team were Thompson, Graves and Lindsey Hindsman from Southside; Carter, Self and Browning from West End; Abbie Elrod from Gaston; and Emma Towns from Sardis.