By Rubin E. Grant
Mountain Brook couldn’t get into a flow, and as a result the Spartans’ streak of consecutive state volleyball championships ended at three.
The two-time defending Class 6A champion Spartans fell to the record-setting Bayside Academy Admirals 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-18, 25-17) in the semifinals last Wednesday at the 52nd AHSAA Elite 8 State Volleyball Championships at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
“We didn’t bring our best game and I hate that,” said Mattie Gardner, Mountain Brook’s second-year head coach. “But that sometimes happens in competition. We played well in spurts but didn’t have any consistency. We had way too many errors on our side and were not playing clean, giving them points. You can’t do that in a semifinal match.
“But give Bayside credit. They have won 21 state championships in a row for a reason.”
The Admirals (53-13), coached by Ann Schilling, earned their 21st consecutive title and 31st overall, both national records, by rallying to beat Spanish Fort 3-2 (20-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-11, 15-12) Thursday at Bill Harris Arena. It was Bayside’s first Class 6A title, coming in their first season in the classification. The others have come from 1A to 5A.
Mountain Brook, which also won the Class 7A title in 2019, finished with a 38-17 record.
“It’s hard to repeat, but I am proud of the fact that me and my staff were able to put another high-quality team on the court,” Gardner said. “I love these girls. It was a wonderful season and I wish we could have put the cherry on the top, but we still had all the fixings.”
The Spartans reached the semifinals by defeating Northridge 3-1 (25-11, 25-23, 21-25, 25-17) in the quarterfinals. Mae Mae Lacey led the Spartans’ attack against Northridge with 10 kills and five blocks. Paige Parant had 12 kills, eight digs and two aces, and her twin sister, Hannah Parant, added 33 assists, seven kills, six digs and four blocks. Ann Coleman contributed nine kills.
The Spartans will graduate three seniors – Addie Holden, Anna Frances Adams and Caroline Heck – but the majority of the team will return next year.
“We’re losing three great seniors, but we have a big group of juniors who will be seniors next year,” Gardner said. “I absolutely plan on us coming back next year and winning because I do not forget how it feels losing.”
