By Gene Schallenberg
For the second straight season, the Lady Lions welcomed more than 15 teams to Huntsville this weekend as they hosted the second annual Alpha Omega volleyball tournament.
“This tournament does give us some good exposure,” Alpha Omega Academy headmaster Paul Davidhizar said Saturday, the final day of the tournament. “We want the girls to have some good competition. There were a lot of good teams here. It really benefits our girls.”
Eighteen teams in total took part in the three-day tournament, including Alpha Omega’s varsity team. There’s also been Class 3A public and private schools like Madisonville’s freshman team and St. Joseph’s that chose to take part in the tournament. League City’s Gulf Coast Storm, a club team that travels around the country, also participated, eliminating the Lady Lions in two games in the semifinal round.
“This is the biggest tournament that we’ve had,” said Alpha Omega head coach Talara Cox. “We played really well. We want to win every match, but sometimes it’s OK to lose if you go out there and play your best. ”
Even though it’s just the second time Alpha Omega has hosted the tournament, Davidhizar looks forward to having many more and adding more teams to the mix.
“We enjoy hosting it and we look forward to continue to host it,” Davidhizar said. “It’s a great opportunity to give our school some good publicity.
“A lot goes into running this tournament. A lot of time is spent contacting coaches. A lot of volunteers and parents have really helped us out with running the concession stand and the hospitality room.”
The Lady Lions have also seen bonuses in hosting a fairly large tournament. Alpha Omega has helped strengthen its team for the upcoming district season.
“The level of play is much higher than we would otherwise see on our schedule,” Cox said. “Probably the only team in our district that plays at this level would be Bellville.
“That’s why we have these tournaments. We want to have our team to play up a level against some good volleyball teams.”
The Lady Lions didn’t advance as far as Cox had hoped, but she was still pleased with the effort.
“I’m so proud of the girls,” Cox added. “They worked very hard and displayed good sportsmanship all throughout the weekend.”
