Andalusia volleyball coach Angie Grimes said Tuesday in order for her girls to have any success at the Class 4A sub-state tournament in Jemison on Thursday, then they have to play good defense.

“That’s definitely what you need at this level,” she said. “I told the girls (Monday) that they have to get their hits.

“We’re strong on offense, there’s no doubt about that if you watch us play,” she said. “We have been working on our defense, and have progressively gotten better at it.”

The Lady Bulldogs (17-9) will be playing a Jemison team that puts a lot of emphasis on serving and defense.

After defeating Calera for the regional title, Jemison improved to a 31-11 record overall.

This will be Andalusia’s third time playing the Lady Panthers. The Lady Bulldogs beat them last season to earn a berth at the Elite 8 Tournament in Pelham.

The sub-state tournament will start at 4 p.m. on Thursday, and it is in a best 3-out-of-5 games and single elimination format.

Grimes said the strategy going into a match like this hangs around her team’s strengths.

“I just keep going back to it, and that’s the thing — I don’t think we have any problems on offense,” she said. “We’ve always been strong on offense. Instead of being one dimensional, we have to be three-dimensional — attacking the ball in areas people don’t expect it.

“I’ve been trying to teach the girls that,” she said. “We’ve been able to get two outside hitters on the right side hitting, on the left side and in the back row. We’re one dimensional on that then we’ve ever been before. That’s why I’m not worried about offense.”