Guntersville Halts Jacksonville String; Bayside Wins Again
Athens Bible, Huntsville, Faith Academy, Addison Also Cop 2009 Volleyball Titles
PELHAM –Guntersville (4A), Bayside Academy (3A), Athens Bible (1A), Huntsville (6A), Faith Academy (5A) and Addison (2A) captured AHSAA state volleyball championships here Thursday in the 2009 Elite Eight Tournament at the Civic Complex.
CLASS 4A: Guntersville Snaps Jacksonville’s Championship Streak
Guntersville (62-7) closed out the 2009 volleyball season with a dramatic victory over powerful Jacksonville in the Elite Eight State Volleyball Tournament finals Thursday night.
The Wildcats fell behind 1-0 in the finals but then reeled off three straight games to lock up the Class 4A state crown.
Jacksonville, the 2007 and 2008 state champs, won game one 25-18. Guntersville then posted a 25-15, 25-22, 28-26 comeback. The final game was a see-saw battle that saw the Wildcats dig out of a hole at the end.
Tourney MVP Cati Leak finished with 28 kills and 20 digs to pace the winners. Adele Woodall added 15 kills, setter Taylor Gibson had 49 assists and Katelin Gray contributed 15 digs and six kills.
Jacksonville was led by middle hitter Taylor Palmer and outside hitter Caroline Neiler.
The state title was the third in state history for Guntersville, which also won in 2004 and 2005.
Class 4A All-Tournament Team
Cati Leak, Guntersville (MVP); Adele Woodall, Taylor Gibson, Guntersville; Taylor Palmer, Caroline Neiler, Jacksonville; Nichole Dzwonkowski, UMS-Wright; Haley Nichols, Lawrence County.
CLASS 3A: Bayside Academy Wins Eighth Straight State Crown
Bayside Academy overcame a strong Montgomery Academy run in the fourth game Thursday to claim the Lady Admirals’ eighth straight state volleyball championship.
Bayside Academy (50-17) dropped the first game of the Class 3A championship match 26-24 but rebounded to capture the title by winning the final three games, 25-23, 25-18, 25-21.
The Admirals led the final game 21-11 before the Eagles clawed back with nine straight points.
The strong defensive play of Bayside at the net proved to be the difference. Middle blocker and tournament MVP Savannah Simmons had 17 kills, six blocks and nine digs to lead the way for Bayside.
Virginia Pittman also had 18 kills, 12 digs and three blocks and Maggie Niemeyer had 10 kills, eight blocks and 13 digs. Setter Sydney Chandler had 45 assists for Coach Ann Schilling’s team.
Alex Garcia led Montgomery Academy with 11 kills. Sarah Harmon Hood had 13 assists and Morgan Ramsey had 10 along with eight digs.
Class 3A All-Tournament Team
Savannah Simmons, Bayside Academy (MVP); Maggie Niemeyer, Virginia Pittman, Bayside Academy; Alex Garcia, Meredith Lee, Montgomery Academy; Lauren Gilmore, Suzanne Baltar, Huntsville-Catholic.
CLASS 1A: Athens Bible Gets First Title In 20 Years
On the last day of the 2009 regular season earlier this month, Athens Bible School invited members of its first and only state volleyball basketball team back to the school for a special 20th year reunion.
Among those former players was April Davis, a sophomore for the Trojans in 1989. Davis, how the head coach for her alma mater, now can add another state championship trophy to the school trophy case.
The Lady Trojans downed Providence Christian in the Class 1A state finals with a hard-fought 25-23, 25-16, 23-25, 24-23 win.
“I remember it well,” said Davis of the 1989 state title. “But I can say this one means much more to me.”
Elizabeth Shaver, a junior middle hitter who was named the Class 1A MVP, had 22 kills, one block and two service aces to lead Athens Bible (36-12).
Makayla Melvin added 23 kills, four digs and four aces and setter Athena Hinkle handed out 42 assists.
For Providence Christian (37-9), playing in the state volleyball finals for the first time, All-Tournament selections Sara Cary and Katie Dowd paced the Eagles with 13 and 12 digs, respectively. Cary also had five kills, two service aces and 33 assists. Dowd also had a team-high 15 kills. Elizabeth Dowd had 11 and 10 digs.
Class 1A All-Tournament Team
Elizabeth Shaver, Athens Bible (MVP); Athena Hinkle, MaKayla Melvin, Athens Bible; Sara Cary, Katie Dowd, Providence Christian; Kria Lawson, Morgan Beaird, Gaston.
CLASS 6A: Huntsville Beats City Rival For Crown
Huntsville High School swept Grissom in three straight games Thursday to capture the Crimson Panthers’ seventh state championship in the last eight years.
The Panthers (61-2) won 25-18, 25-9, 25-19 in the Class 6A finals to beat their city rivals for the sixth time in seven tries this season.
Senior setter Chelsea Wintzinger was the floor leader for Huntsville with five kills, three blocks, two service aces and 28 assists. No assist was more rewarding, however, than the final pass that went to Lindsey Wintzinger that led to the match’s final point in the third game.
It was symbolic of passing the torch to her younger sister, a sophomore who had eight kills and five digs in the win, said coach Melanie Donahoo.
Freshman Jessica Lewis led a balanced front-row attack with nine kills. Anna McRae added four kills and five digs and Kenzie Broome had five kills.
For Grissom (51-17), Allison Gordon had seven kills, Lisa Copeland added six kills and eight digs and setter Anna Buckley had 19 assists.
Huntville won the Class 6A state championship in 2007 and 2006 and four straight Class 5A state crowns from 2002-05.
Class 6A All-Tournament Team
Chelsea Wintzinger, Huntsville (MVP); Anna McRae, Jessica Lewis, Lindsey Wintzinger, Huntsville; Lisa Copeland, Anna Buckley, Grissom; Sha Sha Buchanan, McGill-Toolen.
CLASS 5A: Faith Academy Takes Title
Five times this volleyball season St. Paul’s volleyball team played Faith Academy and won.
The sixth time, however, belonged to the Lady Rams as Faith Academy (39-15) downed the Saints (38-13) in the Class 5A state finals, 25-21, 28-30, 25-20, 25-12.
With the championship match win, Faith Academy became the first school in AHSAA history to win a state volleyball title in just its second year of membership. The Mobile school joined the AHSAA in 2008.
Setter Chelsea Cummings, named the tournament MVP, was seemingly everywhere on the court in the finals. She turned in 38 assists and six digs – with help from Shantel Federick’s 17 digs – and Coach Jessica Rapier’s front line did the rest. Jamie Hall had 20 kills, sister Jessica Hall added 13 and Jasmine Rhodes had 13.
For St. Paul’s, Jennifer Percy had 21 kills, Katherine White had six and MacKenzie Mosley had 20 assists. Percy also had two blocks and 10 digs.
St. Paul’s, coached by Kelli Hillier, won Class 5A state titles in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Class 5A All-Tournament Team
Chelsea Cummings, Faith Academy (MVP); Jessica Hall, Jamie Hall, Shantel Federick, Faith Academy; Grace Rebarchak, Jennifer Percy, St. Paul’s; Alexandra Holmes, Hartselle
CLASS 2A: Addison Sweeps Lexington
Addison’s Lady Bulldogs swept past Lexington, 25-17, 25-13, 27-25 Thursday morning to claim the school’s first-ever Class 2A state volleyball championship.
The Bulldogs (69-3) had little trouble winning the first two games of the championship match against Golden Bears (42-7). However, the third game against the defending state champs was much different.
Lexington was leading 24-22 and one point away from forcing a fourth game when Addison tied the game at 24-24, tied it again at 25-25 and then won the crown by notching the final two points.
“I am very proud of these girls,” said Addison coach Pam Wilkins. “I am proud of the way they have played all year.” It was the fourth state title overall for Addison. The Bulldogs won three straight Class 1A championships from 2003-05. Lexington has seven state crowns to its credit.
Class 2A Tournament MVP Sadie Beam, the Bulldogs’ outside hitter, finished with seven kills, one block and three service aces. Just as important, however, was her defensive play. She had 18 digs, keeping several volleys alive that eventually resulted in key Addison points.
Kaitlin Parker also had 14 kills and three blocks and Kaydi Langley had 12 kills, two blocks and two aces. Setter Kali Lake had 39 assists and four aces and Alex Scott had 15 digs.
Lindsay Greer and Taylor Chapman had 14 and 10 kills, respectively, for the Bears. Chapman also have five blocks and Shea Toner had five kills.
Class 2A All-Tournament Team
Sadie Beam, Addison (MVP); Kaitlin Parker, Kali Lake, Kaydi Langley, Addison; Shea Toner, Taylor Chapman, Lexington; Kristen White, Geraldine; Jennifer Campbell, Sand Rock.