Both Chambers Academy volleyball teams are headed back to the state tournament.

On Tuesday, the varsity Lady Rebels defeated Success Unlimited 3-0 in the Sweet Sixteen knockout round of the region tournament to officially move onto the Elite Eight. During the seeding tournament for state on Wednesday, they beat Lakeside 3-0 and fell to Lowndes 3-0 to nab the No. 2 seed for the state tournament. Chambers finished second in AISA 2A Region 1 just behind Lowndes.

“We played really well against Lakeside. We had a plan and we executed it. We hit well. We did everything that we had talked about. And then when we played Lowndes, we had a long break in between, and we just kind of came out flat. We did not execute well. We did not do the things that we had said that we would do. We just kind of had a breakdown. Once the ball's on your side of the net, it doesn't matter who's on the other side. They can be the best team or the worst team, but once you've got the ball, you’ve got to execute, and we failed to execute,” first-year head coach David Howard said.

Regardless of that seeding outcome, the Lady Rebels are headed back to the Elite Eight. The varsity team plays No. 3 Clarke Prep at 12:30 p.m. CT/ 1:30 p.m. ET on Court 2 at the Cramton Multiplex, located at 220 Hall St., Montgomery. The winner of that game will face the winner of the Lakeside vs. Southern game in the Final Four at 2 p.m. CT/3 p.m. ET on Court 2 the same day. The state championship game will be held on Oct. 20 on Court 1 at 1 p.m. CT/2 p.m. ET.

“We really wanted to do better in our tournament than we did, we wanted to do better against Lowndes than we did, but we learned some things about ourselves on that, and we're going to be ready to battle on Monday,” Howard said.

Going deep in the playoffs would mean a lot to Howard and his team.

“I think it'll be a confidence builder for the girls,” Howard said. “I think anytime we can improve on what we did the year before, it's a great confidence builder, and that's what our girls need more of. We need confidence, and if you’ve got that, then you can play volleyball. If you don't, you can't.”

Howard said getting a state championship title would feel unbelievable.

“It would be a red-letter day,” he said. “If we make it to the final game, we will be ecstatic about that. We're going to be happy about whatever we do, though, as long as we go down and we play really good ball and everybody performs and we execute what we've been working on. We're going to be happy no matter how it comes out.”

Howard highlighted how Chambers Academy has a great team no matter the outcome at state.

“We found out a lot about ourselves. Everybody has gotten better as the year’s gone on, for sure. I'm proud of the way that we have grown mentally. We did kind of have a breakdown in the Lowndes game, but we fought, we battled hard the whole game. Most importantly, I'm proud that our mental toughness has grown. We didn’t shut down early in the season. We would shut down when we had some bad plays. Our girls are doing really good by picking each other up, playing with high energy, and keeping a positive attitude.”

Howard called the varsity team resilient.

“We started off with some tough losses in the beginning of the season, and we fought and fought and got back into having a really good finish,” Howard shared. “We've had some injuries, we've had some people who had to move to different positions, and they've battled through all of that.”

He thanks the team for putting in the work this season. “Thank you for trusting me and (Assistant Coach Courtney Lewis), and thank you for coming in and working as hard as you have in practice, and for giving us all the effort that you have this year.”

The JV Lady Rebels head to state this Saturday, Oct. 17. They got a bye in the first round after Lakeside forfeited, so they will play Bessemer in the second round at 2:30 p.m. CT/3:30 p.m. ET at John T. Morgan Academy, located at 2901 W. Dallas Ave., Selma. By the end of Saturday, a state champion will be crowned.

“We're really excited about [reaching state],” Howard said. “We feel like we stand a really good chance at winning the championship. We kind of feel like it's ours to win or lose. We don't really think that there's a team out there that's better than us. If we come in and we play the way that we can play, and we play our best, we play well, we're going to come out with a trophy. So, we're super excited about that.”

“They’re a super high-energy team. They're having fun,” Howard said. “They work so hard, and they’ve got a lot of potential moving forward.”

When describing the JV team, he said the team plays well together and has lots of spirit.

“We've got a team that plays well together. They fight for every point. They hustle. They don't let balls drop. They don't have quit. They're just exciting and fun to watch,” Howard said. “They are fun when you're out there with them. It’s just a joy being with them. They're just a fun team, and if you can have fun while you're playing, that's going to help you win.”

“I want to thank them for buying into what we were doing because they have come in and they've 100% trusted us in everything that we've asked them to do,” Howard added. “They work their tails off. They always are ready to play. They're the most hustling bunch of girls you'll ever meet.”

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