A-J volleyball falls to Belleville Althoff in sectional title match
<p class="p1">The Anna-Jonesboro Community High School volleyball team lost the Class 2A sectional championship match to Belleville Althoff at Nashville, Thursday, Nov. 5.</p><p class="p1"><strong>Belleville Althoff 25-25, A-J 10-14:</strong> The Lady Wildcats never led in either of the two matches, ending their season with 20 unforced errors in the championship game.</p><p class="p1">Twelve of A-J’s errors came in the first match to go with three aces for the Lady Crusaders.</p><p class="p1">“We might as well have been playing a two-year junior college team,” A-J Coach Amy Fitzgerald-Wilson said. “We’ve never seen competition like that on our floor. I would recruit every one of them if I was a college coach.”</p><p class="p1">Belleville Althoff built a 4-0 lead in the second match, but the Lady Wildcats were able to battle back to pull to 12-8 for as close as they would get. Belleville Althoff then went on a 5-0 unanswered run to put the game away.</p><p class="p1">Elle Basler had 5 digs, 4 kills and a block to lead A-J. Jamie Hammond had 6 blocks and 3 kills.</p><p class="p1">Brooke Miller had 5 assists and a kill. Madison Calhoun had 5 assists. MacKenzie Boget and Hannah Reach had a kill apiece.</p><p class="p1"><strong>A-J 25-25, Trico 19-19:</strong> The Lady Pioneers built a 15-11 lead in the first match before the Lady Wildcats fought back to win the sectional opening round game Tuesday, Nov. 3.</p><p class="p1">“We had to get ourselves in control of the game,” Fitzgerald-Wilson said. “After that win it gave us confidence.”</p><p class="p1">Miller had 12 assists, 5 kills, 2 digs, 2 blocks and an ace for A-J. Basler had 10 kills, 5 digs and a block.</p><p class="p1">Calhoun had 20 assists. Hammond had 7 kills and 4 blocks. Madi Bigler had 8 digs, 4 kills and an ace. Reach had 3 kills and 2 blocks.</p><p class="p1">A-J finished the season with a 20-13 overall mark. The Lady Wildcats’ success could continue next season.</p><p class="p1">“We lost four senior starters,” Fitzgerald-Wilson said. “But we’ve got a lot of juniors coming back.”</p>