After going 3-13 a season ago, the Demopolis High volleyball team earned the right to host the Class 5A, Area 5 tournament after going 3-1 in area play and 6-9 overall.

“It’s big for our girls,” second-year head coach Blythe Smith said. “But I think that it is bigger for the high school and the community of Demopolis.”

The Lady Tigers will host the tournament Tuesday evening, a three-team rendezvous that begins when No. 3 seed Greenville faces No. 2 seed Selma at 5 p.m. Demopolis will play the winner of that game immediately after its conclusion.

“For us not to have to travel is important,” Smith said. “Typically, we don’t do as well when we travel. It should give us an advantage.”

Smith said her team is also at an advantage because it will only have to play one match rather than two.

“That’s always big,” she said. “The fact that we don’t have to work two games, we only have to work one game and that we are guaranteed a spot in the next round is huge.”

The top two teams from each area will advance to a region tournament. By virtue of entering the area tournament as the No. 1 seed, Demopolis has already locked in its regional berth.

While Smith considers the right to host the area tournament and her team’s regional tournament berth as major accomplishments, she was more impressed with her squad’s ability to set and reach a goal.

“They’ve worked really hard in the area game,” Smith said. “That was one of our team goals at the beginning of the year was to beat each of our area opponents at least one time each in the regular season. For them to achieve that goal is huge.”