HUNTSVILLE- The volleyball programs at both Bob Jones and Sparkman High Schools are alive and well. Each squad has advanced to the AHSAA State Tournament at Birmingham’s CrossPlex after finishing among the top four teams at the Class 7A North Super Regional.

For Bob Jones, the Patriots shutout both Vestavia Hills and Sparkman before winning a close match against Hoover in the regional championship match.

“We had three tough matches for sure as we had faced Vestavia Hills a couple weeks ago and defeated them in five games, so we knew that was going to be a good fight,” said Jenny Jarrett head coach of Bob Jones. “Then we had one of our arch rivals in Sparkman, a team we’ve been back and forth with all season long.”

In the opening round, Bob Jones defeated Vestavia Hills (29-10) 3-0 while Sparkman edged Spain Park (26-12) 3-2 to advance to the semi-finals. In the matches among round two, Bob Jones and Sparkman were matched against one another with the Patriots rising to the occasion with a 3-0 blanking of the Senators.

In the championship match, Jarrett said, “This was an absolute battle. We had split with Hoover during the regular season and we knew this was going to be a struggle. They played really well and made some adjustments after we went up 2-0 that we struggled to adjust to, but we finally did. I’m so proud of our girls for sticking with it, fighting and finishing a very tough day of action.”

In the title match, Hoover (35-16) was by edged the Patriots 3-2. In the consolation battle, Sparkman edged Huntsville (34-13) 3-2. All four teams advance to the state tournament against four similar teams from the South Super Regional.

“We are super excited to be headed back to the state tournament as we set goals at the first of the year with the state tournament always being the focus,” said Jarrett, in her first season as head coach of the Lady Patriots. “I am confident that these girls are not just happy to be there, but want to go to compete.”

The State Tournament schedule will feature Wednesday, Oct. 26 matchups at noon: Bob Jones (46-9) vs. Auburn (22-15), Sparkman (45-12) vs. St. Paul’s Episcopal (34-12) in one bracket and Hoover (35-16) vs. Enterprise (41-8) and Huntsville (34-13) vs. McGill-Toolen (48-8) in the second bracket. The winners of those matches advance to the semi-finals scheduled for Oct. 26 at 5:00 p.m. with the Class 7A championship match set for 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 27.