By Lee Davis
Seniors Sara Carr and Sara Chandler Mitchell have meant a lot to the Mountain Brook volleyball program, but their first contribution may have been as tour guides.
Three years ago, Payton Selman – a rising sophomore with considerable volleyball talent – was looking to transfer to a new school and was considering Mountain Brook. Carr and Mitchell decided to offer their own green and gold welcome mat.
“We met with Payton and even gave her a tour of the school and the volleyball facilities,” Carr recalled. “We clicked from the very beginning. Mountain Brook was the place we wanted her to be.”
Whatever skills of persuasion Carr and Mitchell used, they worked. Selman came to Mountain Brook, and the trio helped mold a special piece of Spartan athletic history last Thursday.
Now seniors, Carr, Mitchell and Selman led the Lady Spartans to their second consecutive Class 7A championship, taking the title with a 27-25, 25-23, 25-16 sweep of McGill-Toolen of Mobile at a packed Bill Harris Arena.
“It’s hard to compare championships,” said Carr, who was named Tournament Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive year. “Every team is a little bit different. Both championships are equally sweet.”
Mountain Brook appeared to be in trouble late in the first set, trailing the Lady Yellow Jackets 23-21. Carr said the team never lost its confidence.
“We weren’t worried,” she explained. “Since we’d already scored 21 points, we knew we could score enough to win. In practice, we’re always working in situations where we are trailing late in the match. It’s all about developing mental toughness.”
Lady Spartan coach Haven O’Quinn said that winning the first set was an important step for her team. “They can drive me crazy,” she said, smiling. “But our girls always come on strong at the end. I was pretty confident about those last points.”
Mountain Brook also found itself in trouble in the second set, as McGill took a 23-20 lead. The Lady Spartans rallied for five consecutive points to take the victory.
“Before the game we talked about the fact that the team might be a little nervous,” Carr said. “That meant things could get a little sloppy at times. But we drew on our experience and our work on practice to just keep going. We wanted every shot to be a little better than the last one.”
Mountain Brook dominated the third set to take the victory.
Carr finished with 13 kills, 12 digs and two aces. Emmy Kilgore and Caroline Davies each had nine kills. Mitchell added a whopping 39 assists. Lacey Jeffcoat and Selman added 14 digs for Mountain Brook.
Mitchell, Selman and Kilgore all joined Carr on the All-Tournament team. Mountain Brook ended its season with a 57-6 record.
“I really haven’t thought much about being MVP,” Carr said. “I’m still on cloud nine from winning the championship again. None of it has sunk in yet.”
Carr said one difference from last year’s title run is that she is sleeping better at night. “Right after we won last year, I woke up every morning scared to death that winning the championship was all just a dream,” she said. “I haven’t had that problem this year.”
All of the Lady Spartans can afford to sleep soundly. The championships are real. And the road to the top may have begun when a new girl got a tour of a high school campus.
The news wasn’t quite so good for the other area defending champion, as John Carroll Catholic fell to Spanish Fort 25-20, 22-25, 25-21, 22-25 and 15-11 in the Class 6A finals, also at Bill Harris Arena.
Kelsi Hobbs had 23 kills while Morgan Adamson added 13 kills and 22 digs. Mary Catherine Hart added 10 kills, Kaylee Gilchrist had 27 digs and Anna Runyan had 30 assists as the Lady Cavs finished with a 35-10 mark. Adamson, Hobbs and Hart all earned spots on the All-Tournament team. ϖ