BAYSIDE DEFIES ODDS, WINS 17TH CONSECUTIVE, 27TH OVERALL TITLE

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP VOLLEYBALL

Admirals, Toros, Jackets win 2018 state titles

AHSAA.COM
Posted 11/2/18

Bayside Academy, Spanish Fort and McGill-Toolen Catholic brought state-title, blue-map trophies back to the coast in their divisions with championship victories Thursday.

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BAYSIDE DEFIES ODDS, WINS 17TH CONSECUTIVE, 27TH OVERALL TITLE

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP VOLLEYBALL

Admirals, Toros, Jackets win 2018 state titles

Posted

CLASS 4A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
Bayside Academy 3, Providence Christian 0

BIRMINGHAM – Bayside Academy extended its AHSAA record state championship streak to 17 in a row Thursday and upped its start-record overall championships to 27 with a hard-fought 25-13, 25-27, 25-22, 25-22 victory over Providence Christian in the 48th Class 4A State Volleyball finals held at the CrossPlex’s Bill Harris Arena Thursday.
The Admirals (37-18) added another accomplishment to their growing list of state records in the process. Bayside Academy became the first school in AHSAA history to win state volleyball championships in four different classifications and Coach Ann Schilling became the first volleyball coach to accomplish that feat.
The Daphne school, which moved up to Class 4A this season, won seven Class 1A state crowns from 1981-1996, nine Class 2A titles from 1998-2007 and 10 Class 3A state championships from 2008-2017. The 2018 title is the first in Class 4A.

Junior outside hitter Jacque Martin led the Admirals with 15 kills and 12 digs and was selected Class 4A state tourney MVP. Emily Buhl added eight kills and 15 digs and Ella Broadhead had nine kills. Setter Colton Thompson had 34 assists and seven digs, and Luci Wilkinson had three service aces and 16 digs.
Dothan’s Providence Christian (48-9), which also moved up from 3A to 4A this season, started slowly and fell behind 1-0 after the first set. The Eagles of Coach Bill Oldfield clawed out a 27-25 win in the second set to tie the match at 1-1 and kept it close the rest of the way but could not gain the momentum.
Junior Autumn Mayes had a match-high 21 kills and 21 digs to keep her team close. Anna Riley had 10 kills and Kayla Champion dished out 30 assists. Abbie Griffin contributed 17 digs.
Providence Christian beat Bayside last weekend to win the South Super Regional Class 4A title.

CLASS 4A ALL-STATE TOURNAMENT TEAM
Jacque Martin, Bayside Academy (MVP); Ella Broadhead, Bayside Academy; Colton Thompson, Bayside Academy; Anna Riley, Providence Christian; Abbie Griffin, Providence Christian; Autumn Mayes, Providence Christian.

CLASS 6A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
Spanish Fort 3, Hazel Green 2

BIRMINGHAM –Spanish Fort and Hazel Green high schools both turned in spectacular defensive efforts in the AHSAA Class 6A State Volleyball finals Thursday with the Toros pulling out a 25-22, 25-23, 23-25, 21-25, 15-6 marathon win to capture the school’s second state title in the last four years.

Just how incredible was the defense? The Toros (65-5) of Coach Gretchen Boykin registered 121 team digs and the Trojans had 102. Class 6A tourney MVP Avery Rodgers, who had 24 kills, sparked Spanish Fort to a hard-fought 2-0 lead before the momentum shifted in games 3 and 4. Setter Kayla Keshock finished the match with 51 assists for the Toros while Taylor Fontenelle had 30 digs and Meg Brachan had 28. Kamble Frenette also had 13 kills.
Hazel Green (60-12), coached by CoCo Tate Hughes, had a strong performance on the net from Gracie Lynn Butler, who finished with 22 kills. Hannah Hampel added 13 and setter Catherine Smith dished out 45 assists. Defensive specialist Brittany Strope had a game-high 36 digs, Smith had 24 and Cameron Bassler had 18. Eight players, four from each team, had 10 or more digs in the grueling match.
The 65 wins by Spanish Fort and Hazel Green’s 60 triumphs are both school record. The Toros won the Class 6A title in 2015 and the Trojans won the championship in 2016. Hazel Green has seven state volleyball crowns to its credit.
The three remaining state finals will be played today with all being live-streamed by the NFHS Network.
CLASS 6A ALL-STATE TOURNAMENT TEAM
Avery Rodgers, Spanish Fort (MVP); Taylor Fontenelle, Spanish Fort; Kayla Keshock, Spanish Fort; Kamble Frenette, Spanish Fort; Catherine Smith, Hazel Green; Gracie Lynn Butler, Hazel Green; Brittany Strope, Hazel Green.

CLASS 7A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
McGill-Toolen Catholic 3, Bob Jones 0

BIRMINGHAM – McGill-Toolen Catholic High School sophomore Skyler Bumpers recorded 14 kills to earn MVP honors Thursday as McGill-Toolen Catholic downed Bob Jones 3-0 in the Class 7A finals of the 48th annual AHSAA State Volleyball Championships at the CrossPlex’s Bill Harris Arena here.
The state title was the second in a row for the Dirty Dozen won its second Class 7A state volleyball title in a row and the school’s 21st overall since the AHSAA installed volleyball as a championship sport in 1971. The finals match with Bob Jones was also a rematch of the 2017 championship match.
McGill-Toolen jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead winning 25-17 and 25-8 in the first two sets before the Patriots battled back to tie the third 23-23 and holding the serve. The Dirty Dozen picked up the next two points, however, to close out the win.
Senior Kenya McQuirter, who earned MVP honors in 2017, had 11 kills and eight digs, and Imani Nicholson added nine kills for McGill-Toolen. Senior setter Lillie Fromdahl drew raves from Coach Kate Wood for her leadership on and off the court. Fromdahl had 36 assists and seven serves. McQuirter, Fromdahl and Nicholson earned all-tourney honors with Bumpers.
Pacing Coach April Marsh’s Patriots (37-11) was Junita Monteiro Pai , who had a team-high eight kills and five digs. Setter LeighAnna Tralongo also had 14 assists.
McGill-Toolen closed the season losing only one match to an in-state – dropping a 2-1 decision to Mountain Brook in the Margaret Blalock regular-season tourney. The Dirty Dozen did not lose another set versus in-state competition all year.
The five remaining state finals will be played today with all being live-streamed by the NFHS Network.

CLASS 7A ALL-STATE TOURNAMENT TEAM
Skyler Bumpers, McGill-Toolen Catholic (MVP); Kenya McWhirter, McGill-Toolen Catholic; Lillie Fromdahl, McGill-Toolen Catholic; Imani Nicholson, McGill-Toolen Catholic; Emma Jarrett, Bob Jones; Juanita Monteiro Pai, Bob Jones.

2018 CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

Class 2A Championship
Addison (54-10) 3, Winston County (33-15) 2 (25-21, 20-25, 19-25, 15-8)
Class 7A Championship
McGill-Toolen Catholic (48-5) 3, Bob Jones (37-11) 0 (25-17, 25-8, 25-23)
Class 5A Championship
Jasper (70-5) 3, Saint James (37-11) 0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-19)
Class 6A Championship
Spanish Fort (65-5) 3, Hazel Green (60-12) 2 (25-22, 25-23, 23-25, 21-25, 15-6)
Class 3A Championship
Montgomery Academy (38-9) 3, Carbon Hill (65-7) 0 (25-18, 27-25, 25-18)
Class 4A Championship
Bayside Academy (37-18) 3, Providence Christian (48-9) 1 (25-13, 25-27, 25-22, 25-22)
Class 1A Championship
Pleasant Home (32-5) 3, Athens Bible (45-11) 0 (25-17, 25-13, 25-20)

Visit AHSAA.com for more results and information.