By Rubin E. Grant
Mattie Gardner can’t withhold her enthusiasm as she enters her first season as Mountain Brook’s head volleyball coach.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled and honored,” she said.
She’s also eager to maintain the Spartans’ status as an elite program.
“My expectations are to win a state championship again,” Gardner said. “That hasn’t changed.”
Gardner has been with the Spartans’ volleyball program since 2017 and served as a varsity assistant the past two seasons, so she had a front row seat as Vickie Nichols led Mountain Brook to state championships in 2019 (Class 7A) and 2020 (Class 6A).
Nichols decided to retire in January, but since then she has become the head coach at Florence High School.
Gardner, who played at Samford, has had her own share of success in the Spartans’ program. She led Mountain Brook’s freshman team to the Birmingham metro championship in 2017 and guided the JV team to the most single-season wins in school history in 2018 before becoming the varsity’s top assistant.
Since taking over as head volleyball coach in the spring, Gardner has been busy evaluating what the Spartans have done in the past to become an elite program and how to continue their standard of excellence.
“I have been looking at what we have done to be successful and how to adapt and change for our current girls and staff to maintain our culture and standards,” Gardner said.
Gardner has assembled a top-notch coaching staff and re-established a freshman team as she tries to keep the Spartans on top.
Her coaching staff includes Haley Haggard, Tien Le and Ellie Ritter. Haggard played at Hoover and has been a club coach and will assist Gardner with the varsity. Le was the head coach at Oak Mountain before taking last year off from coaching.
“He actually reached out to me and said he wanted to get back into it,” Gardner said. “He will be in charge of the JV.”
Ritter played on Mountain Brook’s teams that won three consecutive Class 7A titles from 2014 to 2016. She graduated from the University of Georgia in the spring and will coach the freshman team.
“She wanted to get involved,” Gardner said. “I am really excited about the way the staff has come together. They are experienced and will help us continue our level of play.”
The Spartans will have a freshman team for the first time in three seasons, thanks to an abundance of young talent.
“That’s how the numbers shook out,” Gardner said. “We have a tremendous amount of quality players. The junior high is always really good and we have a lot of girls coming back.”
The varsity is loaded with experience with six players returning from their 2020 championship team, including four seniors: middle blocker Greer Golden, outside hitter Hannah Hitson, outside hitter Lucy Ridden and defensive specialist Alexandra Carlson.
The other two returnees are sophomore setter Hannah Parant and junior right side hitter Sims Kilgore.
Rounding out the 11-player roster are Caroline Heck, a junior middle blocker/right side hitter; Anna Frances Adams, a junior defensive specialist; Addie Holden, a junior setter; Alice Garzon, a sophomore middle blocker; and Paige Parent, a sophomore outside hitter/defensive specialist and twin sister of Hannah Parant.
Mountain Brook has a demanding schedule. The Spartans will open the season Aug. 19 against perennial powerhouse McGill-Toolen at Spartan Arena, then compete in the prestigious Juanita Boddie Tournament Aug. 20-21 at the Finley Center in Hoover.
“We’re not backing down,” Gardner said confidently.
