By Rubin E. Grant
Mae Mae and Annie Lacey get some curious looks from the other side of the net whenever they are on the front row together for the Mountain Brook volleyball team.
“They point at us and then you can hear them whispering, ‘Are they twins,’” Mae Mae said. “Then when the point is over they ask us, ‘Are y’all twins?’”
Indeed they are. In fact, the Laceys are one of two sets of twins on the team, joining seniors Hannah and Paige Parant, and they are one of three sets who have played for the Spartans in recent years. Ann and Liz Vandevelde graduated in 2020 after helping Mountain Brook win a state title in 2019.
“I love it,” Annie said of Mountain Brook’s twin trend. “I think it’s cool ‘cause people will remember we had three sets of twins the last few years.”
Mountain Brook coach Mattie Gardner gets a kick out of the curiosity about the Laceys, who are 6-foot-1 seniors.
“One of the most interesting things when we play is watching the other team look over to see whether they are twins,” Gardner said.
Mae Mae, a middle hitter, and Lacey, a right side player, are identical, so the double-take is understandable. There is one slight difference though, Annie is left-handed and Mae Mae is right-handed.
The Laceys are double trouble at the net for their opponents. “It’s fun when we get a block together,” Mae Mae said.
They also have a fun-loving sibling rivalry going whenever they’re on the court.
“We’re definitely competitive,” Mae Mae said. “We’re always comparing stats.”
So far this season, Annie has 218 kills, 30 blocks and 40 digs, and Mae Mae has 107 kills, 49 blocks and 32 digs.
“They are very talented and very athletic,” Gardner said. “They are also tennis players, and tennis has been their main sport. They took a break from volleyball but came back their sophomore year and played junior varsity. They were on varsity last year.
“What’s been fun to see is them taking on bigger roles this year because we depend on what they can do. It’s great to see them embrace that and be pivotal players.”
The Lacey twins have helped the Spartans (30-4) win 14 consecutive matches, Gardner surpass 100 victories for her career, and the Spartans become the No. 1 ranked Class 6A team.
On Sept. 22-23, they won the competitive HeffStrong Tournament at Spain Park. Mountain Brook won four pool play matches without dropping a set, beating Clay-Chalkville, Shades Valley, Muscle Shoals and Metairie Park (Louisiana). They swept Houston (Tennessee) and Huntsville in single elimination Gold Bracket play before beating Montgomery Academy 2-1 in the semifinals after dropping the first set.
In the championship match, the Spartans defeated previously unbeaten, Class 7A No. 1 Bob Jones 20-25, 25-18, 15-12 to claim the title.
This week, the Spartans were scheduled to play Spain Park at home Tuesday and visit Woodlawn on Thursday.
Tennis Champs
The Lacey twins have won multiple individual tennis state championships in singles and doubles, including the Class 6A No. 3 doubles title as a freshman tandem in 2021.
Last spring, Annie Lacey won No. 2 singles and Mae Mae won No. 5 singles, then Annie teamed with Pippa Roy to win No. 1 doubles and Mae Mae teamed with Ann Coleman to win No. 2 doubles as the Spartans captured the school’s state-record 33rd AHSAA state girl’s tennis championship.
“Our favorite sport is probably tennis ‘cause we’ve been doing it a lot longer,” Mae Mae said.
“Playing tennis together is so much fun,” Annie said. “We haven’t played doubles together since our freshman year because one of us needed to play with Pippa.”
The twins are unsure whether they will become college athletes, but they do plan to attend the same school. Among colleges they are considering are Wake Forest and Washington and Lee.
“If we go to a larger school, we probably won’t try to play sports in college, but we might walk-on if we go to a small school,” Mae Mae said.
Gardner believes the Lacey twins are talented enough to play sports in college, if that’s what they decide.
“They are so bright,” Gardner said. “They have done a great job of balancing their class load and playing two varsity sports. They are a great example of what it means to be a student-athlete.”
This fall, the Laceys hope to help the Spartans reclaim the Class 6A state volleyball title. They won Class 6A titles in 2020 and 2021 as part of three consecutive state championships, including the 2019 Class 7A crown. But Mountain Brook lost to Bayside Academy in the 2022 Class 6A semifinals.
Bayside went on to earn its 21st consecutive title, over multiple classifications, and its 31st title overall, both national records.
“It was extremely disappointing to lose to Bayside in the semifinals, so we’re just that much more motivated this year,” Annie said. “It’s such a big streak they’re on so I hope we can be the ones to end it.”
