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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

DAPHNE – The Oak Mountain Eagles carried solid momentum into the Bayside Tournament after the Eagles took a pair of area matchups over Hewitt-Trussville and Spain Park in the days prior.

The Eagles took three wins on Friday and Saturday Sept. 15-16 at Bayside Academy, beating DAR twice and St. Luke’s Episcopal once.

Oak Mountain opened the tournament well with a win against DAR. While the teams were tied after the first two sets, Oak Mountain closed the match well with a third set win to take the match and start the tournament 1-0.

In Oak Mountain’s second match of the tournament, the Eagles faced St. Paul’s Episcopal on Friday, Sept. 15. After the Saints won the opening set, 25-21, Oak Mountain came back in the second set to win by an identical score of 25-21 to force a third set.

St. Paul’s Episcopal edged the Eagles in the third set, 15-11, to win the match, 2-1.

The next day, Oak Mountain took on Huntsville in its third match. Huntsville opened up the match with a 25-15 first set win, and even though the Eagles made the second set closer, Huntsville still took the set, 25-21, to sweep the match.

Then, Oak Mountain squared off with Bayshore Christian. Bayshore jumped out to an early lead in the match with a 25-18 win in the first set, but Oak Mountain did a great job of responding with a 25-20 second set win.

In the third set, however, Bayshore edged out the win and took the set, 15-11, to win the match.

After dropping three straight matches, the Eagles had a chance to beat DAR for the second straight match. Just like the first match, the teams traded the first two sets to force a third and deciding set, and again like the first match, Oak Mountain took the third set, 15-8, to win the match.

Oak Mountain moved on to face St. Luke’s Episcopal. In their matchup with the Wildcats, Oak Mountain started the match strong with a 25-17 first set win, and then the Eagles closed out the sweep with a 25-21 win in the second set.

Then, Oak Mountain faced Trinity Presbyterian as the Eagles hoped to win a third straight match. Oak Mountain dropped a close first set, 25-23, before they came out on the winning end of another tight set with a 25-22 victory in the second set.

However, in the third set, it was Trinity Presbyterian who had the advantage, and the Wildcats’ 15-11 win in the set ended Oak Mountain’s run at the Bayside Tournament.

The tournament wrapped up a busy nine-match week for the Eagles. During the week, Ava Heath led the Eagles in kills with 58, and she also hit for +.149, won four aces and earned 12 assists and 59 digs.

Mabrey Whitehead led the Eagles in aces with 21 while recording 55 kills, a 2.17 serve receive rating and a +.168 hitting percentage. She also earned 59 digs and four assists.

Lauren Schuessler was close behind her on the offensive side with 51 kills, but she led Oak Mountain with 77 digs and 11 blocks while also earning 82 assists. She hit for +.220 while also recording 12 aces and 11 blocks.

Oak Mountain will face John Carroll on Tuesday, Sept. 19 in its next match before the Eagles face Chelsea in a road matchup in area play on Thursday, Sept. 21.