The Belgreen Bulldog volleyball girls got their season started Saturday in the annual Brooks Invitational tournament. The Bulldogs finished sixth out of 18 teams in the tournament.

Susie Tverberg had to replace five seniors from last year’s squad and missed two weeks of practice because of virus precautions.

“I was very proud of our girls,” said Tverberg. “I didn’t go into the tournament expecting to beat many of those teams. We have a lot of challenges we’ve had to overcome.

“I wanted us to be competitive and get better. I wanted to see drive and passion. I think that is what we got.”

Belgreen faced some stiff competition. The Bulldogs beat Class 4A Brooks in the first match of the day but lost to the third-ranked team in Class 4A Deshler in match two. Belgreen lost to Class 5A Fort Payne in three sets in the third match of the day before beating Class 4A Fayette County.

Belgreen lost in the championship game of the pool to Hatton.

“Our girls were tired,” said Tverberg. “It was a long day, and they were physically exhausted, but they got better and more confident as the day went on.”

Senior Emma Dempsey had a strong day for the Bulldogs, totaling 30 kills over the five matches.

Tverberg praised Brooks High School for the way the school handled the new coronavirus regulations.

“They did a very good job helping everyone social distance,” said Tverberg. “They were checking temperatures at the door, and they had hand sanitizer everywhere. If your team wasn’t playing, they asked you to leave the gym so the other team and their fans could come in.

“I was very impressed and felt very safe. If we all do this, maybe we can keep this going for the kids.”