Pisgah Captures Eighth County Title

By Cinthia Rico

PISGAH – The Lady Eagles edged Woodville 2-1 in the 2023 Jackson County Tournament at Pisgah High School last week.

The No. 2-seeded Eagles displayed an impressive performance throughout the tournament, with Briley Caperton, tourney MVP, leading the team with eight kills, an ace, and 29 digs.

Abigail Bain, an all-tournament selectee, also made significant contributions with her strong performance in both (10) kills and (14) digs.

Ella Grace Samples and Paisley Patalas also showcased their talents with solid contributions. Samples recorded 16 digs, one ace, and three kills, while Patalas had two kills, five aces, and 12 digs to help secure the team’s success.

Pisgah opened with a win in the first set of the championship game, 25-23, over Woodville, tying at 20 before adding four vital points to win the set.

Early in the second set, the Panthers established a 20-11 lead en route to a win that set 25-19 to tie the match at one set each.

Pisgah secured the match and county championship after a tie-break third set. The two teams fought for dominance before the Eagles gained control as they rallied to an 11-9 margin and eventually triumphed over Woodville.

Defeating the reigning champion North Sand Mountain in the semifinals to advance to its fourth final appearance overall, Woodville finished runner-up for the third time.

All-county selectee Lannah Grace paced the Panthers with 10 kills. Anna Robertson, an all-county selectee, tallied 17 assists and three kills, while Jerzey Jones finished with four kills and an ace.

Jackson County Volleyball All-Tournament Team: – Briley Caperton, Pisgah (MVP), Abigail Bain, Pisgah, Lannah Grace Beard, Woodville, Anna Robertson, Woodville, Alley Stubblefield, North Jackson, Kameron Patterson, NSM and Zella Johnson, Section

Semifinals
Pisgah 2, North Jackson 1:

The second-seeded Eagles defeated third-seeded North Jackson in the semifinals after winning the final two sets.

After dropping the opening set 25-23, Pisgah cruised to a 25-11 victory in the second frame before defeating the Chiefs in a tense third frame 17-15.

For the Eagles, Briley Caperton had eight kills, six aces, and 26 digs, Abigail Bain had seven kills, and Ella Grace Samples had four kills, 15 digs, and Paisley Patalas had two kills, 12 digs.

North Jackson was led by All-Tournament selection Alley Stubblefield, who finished with 10 kills, two aces, three blocks, and one dig. Jazmyn Taylor contributed four kills and two blocks, Abby Benson contributed three kills and an ace, Darcy McClendon provided 11 assists and two digs, and Millee Grider contributed three digs.

Woodville 2, NSM 1:

The top-seeded Panthers battled back after dropping the first set to fourth-seeded North Sand Mountain to reach the championship game.

For Woodville, Lannah Grace Beard had 19 kills, one ace, and one assist, while Anna Robertson had 24 assists, one kill, and one ace, and Jerzey Jones had seven kills.

Kali Kirkpatrick had nine kills, two digs, and one assist for NSM. Ally Shaffer had three kills, three digs, and one assist, and Kameron Patterson contributed two kills, 15 assists, and four digs. Abby Shaffer had nine kills, two aces, one block, one dig, and one assist overall. Raygan Weldon had 13 digs, Grace Underwood had two digs, and Gabi Luna added two kills, four digs, and two aces for the Bison.

Quarterfinals

NSM 2, Section 0: At the Jackson County Volleyball Tournament’s opening round, fourth-seeded NSM defeated the fifth-seeded Section.