By Rubin E. Grant
The Mountain Brook volleyball team took it as a slight.
Even though the Spartans won the 2019 Class 7A state championship with a school-record 59 victories and moved down a classification this year, few gave them a chance of capturing the Class 6A crown.
The low expectations weren’t a surprise, considering Mountain Brook won its 2019 title with a senior-laden team led by Player of the Year Grace Carr and was replacing half its roster.
On top of that, Class 6A was loaded with two-time defending champion Spanish Fort; Hazel Green, which has reached the Class 6A title match three of the past four seasons; Jasper, which won the Class 5A title in 2019; plus perennial contenders Pelham and Hartselle.
But when the season ended two weeks ago, the Spartans hoisted the championship trophy again, sweeping Hartselle 3-0 in the final in the AHSAA 50th State Volleyball Championships at the Birmingham CrossPlex and Bill Harris Arena.
“It was just a goal we had to repeat in a rebuilding year,” Mountain Brook coach Vickie Nichols said. “The pressure was off because nobody expected us to do it. We kind of had a chip on our shoulders. We were determined to prove people wrong.”
The Spartans (34-12) dominated Hartselle (54-12) in the championship match, winning 25-11, 25-15, 25-16.
Senior libero Evelyn King earned MVP honors with her leadership and defensive skills. She was especially sharp on serve, finishing with two aces and nine digs. Senior outside hitter Celie Field had five service aces and nine kills. Sophomore Sims Kilgore added seven kills and freshman Hannah Parant had 10 assists.
King, Field and teammate Lilly Gilbert were named to the Class 7A all-tournament team.
“It was almost unbelievable,” King said. “I am so glad we pulled out a win.”
King said the Spartans drew on their past championship success. In addition to 2019, Mountain Brook also won state titles in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
“I feel like every year I’ve been in the Mountain Brook program it has been nailed into my head that if you believe in yourself, believe in your teammates and believe you can win, then you can win,” King said.
“This year was very different. Last year, everyone knew we were a force to be reckoned with, but this year I thought nobody believed in us. So we went out to prove everybody wrong.”
Mountain Brook swept John Carroll Catholic 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-17) in the quarterfinals and knocked off Hazel Green 3-2 in the semifinals, winning seven of the last nine points in the fifth set to advance with a 23-25, 28-26, 26-24, 15-25, 15-9 victory. Gilbert led Mountain Brook with 11 kills, and 10 digs. Parrant added 35 assists and four digs, and Field had eight kills and seven digs.
With the victory, the Spartans avenged a 3-2 loss to Hazel Green (25-19, 15-25, 25-22, 21-25, 15-9) in the North Super Regional semifinals.
“We had a feel for how to play them after we lost to them in the super regional,” King said. “We figured out some things and we knew how beatable they were.”
Hartselle reached the final with a 3-2 win over Spanish Fort (42-12) in the semifinals but were no match for the determined Spartans.
“It was a total team effort,” Nichols said. “The whole season was a total team effort. The girls worked so hard and our seniors came through in clutch moments.
“I am thrilled to death and happy for our seniors to go out with back-to-back state championships, to go out with a bang.”