By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

HELENA–The Helena Huskies volleyball team celebrated in their home gym on Tuesday, Oct. 20 as they defeated Central Tuscaloosa followed by Calera in the area championship of the Class 5A Area 7 bracket crowning the Huskies as area champions.

The four teams competing in the area tournament were Helena, Jemison, Central Tuscaloosa and Calera.

Game one: Calera vs Jemison

The closest match of the night occurred between the Calera Eagles and the Jemison Panthers in the first match of the area tournament.

The Eagles would go on to defeat Jemison in four sets, 25-23, 25-20, 19-25, 25-17 as Calera would end the Panthers season in a hard-fought match.

Spain lead Jemison with 13 digs while Cole contributed 10 digs in a losing effort.

Game two: Helena vs Central Tuscaloosa

Game two of the area tournament featured the Helena Huskies and the Central Tuscaloosa Falcons where the winner of the match would meet Calera in the area championship.

The match was all Huskies as Helena swept the best of five set match 3-0 by the score of 25-10, 25-10, 25-5.

Mekhi Mayfield had 12 digs while Samantha Sheets had seven kills to lead the Huskies.

Area Championship: Helena vs Calera

The Class 5A Area 7 championship featured two Shelby County teams facing one another. The good news for both teams was that win or lose both the champion and runner-up would still advance to the regionals in Montgomery.

Other than a tight third set, Helena would go on to defeat Calera in the match by a score of 25-13, 25-15, 25-23 becoming area champs.

Mekhi Mayfield had 14 digs while Artasia DeBose had 8 kills to help lead the Huskies to victory.

When asked how her team was able to respond and come back in the third set, Helena head coach Amanda Lewis said it’s just been something her team has been able to do all season.

“It’s just what we’ve been doing all year,” said Lewis. “When we get down, it doesn’t really make or break us and I’m just confident in the girls. I think our girls are very focused and they were able to focus on what we needed to do to get our job done.”

Helena improved their record to 23-11 on the season and will try to build on their success in the Regional Tournament on Friday, Oct. 23.