High School Sports

WHITE PLAINS — Jacksonville punctuated a perfect performance in the 2008 Calhoun County Volleyball Tournament with a 3-0 win against Class 6A and defending champion Oxford in the final on Saturday afternoon.

The top-seeded Golden Eagles had a bye into the second round, where they defeated No. 9 seed Donoho 3-0 (25-11, 25-13, 25-9). In the seminfinals the eventual champions turned away No. 4 seed Alexandria in three, 25-11, 25-10, 25-13.

The county championship couldn't have come at a more opportune time for the Golden Eagles (32-3). After starting its season without dropping a single 25-point game and compiling a 24-0 record, the 2007 Class 4A state champions had lost three of their past four matches. They suffered defeats at the hands of Bayside, ranked No. 1 in Class 3A, Pelham, ranked No. 1in Class 6A and Briarwood Christian, ranked No. 2 in Class 5A.

"It was nice while it lasted," said Jacksonville coach David Clark. "Everybody likes being undefeated. We wanted to be pushed late in games, and that's what we got."

The Golden Eagles started out blazing against No. 2 Oxford.

They beat the Yellow Jackets 25-8 in the first game, but Oxford jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the second game, which saw eight ties and three lead changes. The Yellow Jackets would fall behind 14-9 but rallied with five consecutive points.

Jacksonville finally regained control on a kill by tournament MVP, senior Elizabeth Neisler. Then, they rode Laura Risse's solid serving and spirited play up front from Taylor Palmer — also an all-tournament team selection — to a 25-18 win. That put them just one game from clinching the title.

Oxford, which defeated No. 15 seed Anniston, No. 7 seed Piedmont and No. 3 seed Ohatchee on its way to the final, saved its best effort for that last game, thanks to a stern talking to from coach Wendy McKibbin between games.

"I told them they had to play harder and they deserved to be in the championship match," McKibbin said. "(Overall) I thought they played hard today."

The Yellow Jackets (36-5) went tit-for-tat with the Golden Eagles in the third and final game, which included the longest points of the match. The surging Yellow Jackets looked as though they might force a fourth game when they took the lead at 14-12.

But whenever her team needed her, Neisler, a 6-foot middle hitter who'll play at Samford next season, showed up and showed out. She came through with back-to-back kills to knot the game at 14, then added a block on the next point to put Jacksonville 15-14.

The Golden Eagles never trailed again.

"We know when it's that time in a game where it's going," Clark said. "We like to get her the ball a lot, and she got a lot of big kills for us.

"She didn't feel great today, but she hung in there. The biggest thing I was pleased with was our passing today. It allowed us to stay in our offense."

Neisler finished the day with 39 kills and 12 blocks in three games, while Palmer, a junior, added 32 kills and 11 blocks. All-Tournament setter Leah Bell (30 digs and three aces), Megan Cabrer (81 assists and 12 aces) and Neisler's younger sister Caroline (17 kills, 17 aces) also had big tournaments. Risse added 19 kills, 11 aces and four digs for the Golden Eagles.

Oxford was led by All-Tournament selections Allison Schwyn and Jordan McCall. Schwyn finished with 34 kills and 42 digs, and McCall added 30 kills and 24 assists to go along with nine blocks. Brittany Middlebrook had 58 digs, while middle hitter Katherine Uhrin logged seven kills and 11 blocks.

Most Valuable Player

Elizabeth Neisler, Jacksonville

All-tournament team

• Laneshia Anderson, Ohatchee

• Leah Bell, Jacksonville

• Brittany Brooks, White Plains

• Megan Cabrer, Jacksonville

• Jasmine Crook, Ohatchee

• Latoya Ellington, Wellborn

• Jordan McCall, Oxford

• Caroline Neisler, Jacksonville

• Taylor Palmer, Jacksonville

• Allison Schwyn, Oxford

•Monica Williams, Alexandria

Scores by round

Opening round

• No. 1 Jacksonville — bye

• No. 9 Donoho d. No. 8 Saks 25-20, 25-18, 27-25

• No. 5 Wellborn d. No.12 Faith Christian 25-22, 25-14, 25-11

• No. 4 Alexandria d. No. 13 Weaver 25-15, 25-9, 25-18

• No. 3 Ohatchee d. No. 14 Sacred Heart 25-5, 25-11, 25-5

• No. 6 White Plains d. No. 11 Jacksonville Christian 25-16, 25-11, 25-13

• No.7 Pleasant Valley d. No. 10 Piedmont 20-25, 27-25, 25-22, 25-21

• No. 2 Oxford d. No. 15 Anniston 25-6, 25-4, 25-6

Quarterfinal round

• Jacksonville d. Donoho 25-11, 25-13, 25-9

• Alexandria d. Wellborn 25-23, 25-17, 12-25, 25-15

• Ohatchee d. White Plains 25-20, 25-13, 25-20

• Oxford d. Pleasant Valley 25-22, 25-19, 25-18

Semifinal round

• Jacksonville d. Alexandria 25-11, 25-10, 25-13

• Oxford d. Ohatchee 25-15, 25-13, 25-24

Championship match

• Jacksonville d. Oxford 25-8, 25-18, 25-21