By Rubin E. Grant
A day after her first season as Hoover’s head volleyball coach had ended, Amanda Wood was in no mood to offer any reflections.
The dejection and disappointment of being eliminated in the Class 7A state tournament was too fresh.
“I am still wallowing in self-misery,” Wood said.
Enterprise narrowly defeated Hoover 3-2 (25-23, 22-25, 25-27, 25-22, 15-12) last Wednesday in the 7A quarterfinals in the AHSAA 52nd Elite 8 State Volleyball Championships at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
“It was a very close match,” Wood said. “They were the biggest, most physical team we played all year. When they get into a rhythm, they are a lot more dangerous.
“It was back-and-forth and we just didn’t get the break we needed to pull it out.”
Raegan James led the Bucs’ attack with 15 kills and 17 digs. Setter Maggie Harris had 50 assists and libero Bella Guenster had 50 digs. Adair Byars contributed 12 kills and 6 digs and Alanah Pooler had 8 kills and 4 blocks.
Hoover finished the season with a 35-17 record.
In her postgame remarks to the team, Wood said, “I told them I was proud of the growth they’ve shown this year and I would have given anything to have one more round with them.”
It had been a demanding season for Wood, who replaced the retired Chris Camper. Camper had been Hoover’s head coach for 10 years.
“I never worked so hard in my life, and I’ve never had so much fun,” Wood said. “The girls weren’t afraid to work hard, they played for each other and they celebrated each other. I hated the season ended the way it did.”
Despite losing nine seniors, Wood believes the Bucs have a good nucleus returning to make another run at the state title in 2023.
“We’ll be starting over and will have a lot of work to do, but I think we’ll have a competitive team,” Wood said. “After I decompress, I will be ready to get back to work.”
