By Brandon Sumrall | Special to the Advertiser
A battle from the opening serve finally bounced the way of the Chilton County Tigers in a fifth and deciding set on Oct. 23, as CCHS knocked off Stanhope Elmore (25-26; 25-18; 27-25; 25-23; 15-12) in the Area 5-6A Tournament Championship match.

The Tigers jumped out to an early 6-2 lead in the first set thanks to the serving and a pair of aces by Jordan Ray.

Chilton County further extended the lead thanks to the serving of Alayna Lockhart along with a pair of kills by Kristina Dennis and Amaya White.

Unable to put the Mustangs away, Chilton County watched its lead slowly slip away, and with Stanhope taking over serving duties while trailing by five, the Tigers’ saw the lead deteriorate completely to a 17-all tie.

The Tigers picked up a late four-point run to make the score 23-19, but the Mustangs again battled back with a pair of late points, while trailing by one to give Stanhope the set one win, 26-25.

The latter moments of the first set helped set the tone for the second, as neither team managed more than a two-point lead during the early moments of the second set.

With the score tied at 10, a kill by Lockhart handed serving duties over to Jaclyn Crumpton, who put the Tigers out in front by three thanks to a pair of aces.

A later 5-0 run led by Lockhart gave Chilton County a commanding 18-11 lead, as the Tigers went on to win 25-18 in the second set.

Set three of the match started out heavily favoring the away team, as the Mustangs built an early 7-3 lead.

That lead grew to 11-6 in favor of Stanhope, when a kill by Ray handed over serving duties to Abigail Powell, who led the Tigers back to an 11-all tie.

Small runs by both squads saw the score move through a 25-all tie before a pair of aces gave the Mustangs a 27-25 third set win.

With the tone set for the match, set number four of the night was no different.

The Tigers gained an early 7-5 lead, but it was answered by a Stanhope run that gave the Mustangs a 10-7 lead.

Chilton County answered with another big run that gave the Tigers a one-point advantage, but an answer by the Mustangs knotted the score at 12.

A one-point battle ensued through a 21-all tie when two straight by the Mustangs gave Stanhope a 23-21 edge.

With a kill by Powell, the Tigers took over serving duties while trailing by one.

Lockhart scored a kill and a set-winning ace by Powell gave the Tigers set four, 25-23.

An early lead for the Tigers in the fifth and final set did not hold up for long, as a 5-0 run by the Mustangs swung the lead in favor of Stanhope, 5-2.

However, another kill by Lockhart handed over serving duties to Crumpton, who led a 4-0 run that gave the Tigers a 7-5 lead.

Unwilling to quit, the Mustangs answered by tying the score at 7-all and the score remained tied at 10.

Kills by Ray and Crumpton, along with an ace by Dennis led a 4-0 run by Chilton County that propelled the Tigers to a 15-12 set five win to close out the match.

“I am really proud of the girls. They fought and worked hard,” Chilton County head coach Keeley Yeargan said. “We have some things to work on most definitely before regionals on Thursday, but they came together today as one and played their hearts out.”