Thompson High School couldn’t overpower the defending state champions, losing to Huntsville in the Class 5A state volleyball tournament, 25-13, 25-15, 25-22.

&uot;We would have loved to beat Huntsville,&uot; said Warriors coach Chris Brooks. &uot;But to go as far as we did was awesome.

&uot;The goal was that we wanted to make it to the Elite 8 again and finish better than we did last year,&uot; Brooks said. &uot;Anything else was going to be icing on the cake.&uot;

With the defeat in last Saturday’s title game, Thompson finished the season as the second place team in Class 5A.

Last season, the Warriors finished fourth in pool play and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by Huntsville.

THS achieved one of its team goals this season, Brooks said, by fighting its way to the state championship match.

The Warriors were led by Pamela Cartagena who had 74 kills, 13 blocks, 116 digs and 16 aces.

Katie Williamson had 31 kills, 15 blocks and 12 aces in the tournament while Tamara Williams had 22 kills and 32 blocks.

Felicia Giddens, one of only three seniors on the squad, had 85 assists and 17 digs.

Tanesha McNeal had 63 assists and 37 digs.

&uot;I’m very happy for the girls,&uot; Brooks said. &uot;I knew that we could be where we were, but to pull it all together right there at the end was great. I’m also very excited about next season with such a young team and the depth we’ll have from our bench.

&uot;Most of the players we put on the court are sophomores and juniors,&uot; Brooks said.

A total of five high schools represented Shelby County in the Elite 8, held at the Pelham Civic Complex.

Thompson entered the tournament as the Region A champions with a 28-14 regular season record.

The Oak Mountain Eagles were Region C champions in Class 6A and were joined in the tournament by 6A runner-up Spain Park.

Pelham High School made the bracket as the 6A, Region B champs with a 51-13 regular season record.

Joining the Warriors in the Class 5A brackets was Briarwood Christian School which won its region with a 26-14 record