Belgreen volleyball advances to regionals

The Belgreen Bulldogs are rolling into the regional tournament in Huntsville with a lot of momentum behind them.

Fresh off a Franklin County Tournament championship, Belgreen beat Hackleburg to win the area tournament and Marion County in sub–region play to advance to regionals. The Lady Bulldogs will play Lindsey Lane at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the Von Braun Civic Center.

“I feel my girls have progressively gotten better throughout the season,” said Belgreen Coach Susie Tverberg.  “They have never stopped working or believing in all they could accomplish.

“My four seniors are great leaders who lead by example,” Tverberg added. “They’re encouraging and always picking up their teammates. They have proven they’re a team, and it takes them all playing with a purpose and a passion for us to be successful.”

Belgreen beat Marion County in the subregion three sets to one – 22-25, 25-14, 25-17 and 25-17.

Emma Dempsey led the way in the subregion with 32 kills. Dempsey had four errors with six blocks and seven digs. Noelle Willingham had 17 assists and 13 digs. Makayla Willingham had 21 digs, and Kelsey Wilson added four aces.

“During the area tournament, we played a very consistent defense and ran our offense with an outcome in mind. Our performance was very solid and disciplined. I feel that carried over into the sub–region game against Marion County,” said Tverberg. “I’m proud for my team, my school and our fans. The turnout for the sub–region game was as large and as loud as a lot of varsity basketball games. That really fueled the player’s energy and excitement for the game.

“It was a great week for Belgreen volleyball.”

Belgreen beat Hackleburg in the area finals in three straight sets – 25-13, 25-21 and 25-22.

Dempsey had 37 kills and 13 aces to help the Bulldogs to the Class 1A, Area 14 title. She also got her 1000th career kill over the past two seasons in the match.