AISA STATE VOLLEYBALL: Macon East falls in state tourney

Macon East senior Sara Stuckey sets the shot for her teammates against Glenwood on Wednesday at Garrett Coliseum. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

Macon East Academy’s run in the state playoffs ended a game short – in the AAA semifinals – but head coach Codi Moon couldn’t be too upset.

Earlier this year, she was wondering how she would replace the leadership of talented seniors Emily Brooks and Emi Lott and whether her team would ever come together as a unit. After earning a berth in the AISA state volleyball tournament at Garrett Coliseum on Wednesday, she had the answer she was searching for earlier this season.

“We went through a lot as a team this year,” Moon said, “and I think it came together well for us. Both of our setters were new to us again this year and we were used to having Emily Brooks on the floor for the past six years. It was an adjustment there, but I think Sara (Stuckey) and Kadence (Ward) did a good job of making those adjustments and so did our hitters in how to hit a different setter.

“So we had a lot of communication issues early and we had a lot of communication issues in the first set or two of this game, then we turned it on and gave them a little better game.”

Macon East (15-6) made eight consecutive trips to the finals (winning seven) in 2011-18 and now back-to-back trips to the semifinals, beating Tuscaloosa Academy in the quarterfinals on Wednesday before dropping the first two sets to Glenwood, winning the third, and narrowly losing the fourth.

Glenwood will face Southern, which defeated Lee-Scott in the other semifinal, for the AAA championship on Thursday at Garrett Coliseum at 3 p.m.

Class A Abbeville Christian will play Jackson Academy in the first championship match at 11 a.m., followed by the AA title match featuring Chambers Academy and Edgewood Academy at 1 p.m.

Macon East played its final two sets a lot better than it did the first and Moon was a little surprised her team looked out of sync early.

“I just don’t think we were ready to play when we stepped on the floor,” she said. “A lot of the game of volleyball is mental. We kind of got down on ourselves when one or two bad things happened and we just couldn’t turn it back on for a little while. But once we finally turned it back on, we were able to come back and win a set and almost won the fourth set. It’s a game of errors and it comes down to one or two points and those one or two points, they just outplayed us. 

“They’re the best team we’ve played so far. They’re well coached. I have a lot of respect for Glenwood. They play the game of volleyball very well.”

Stuckey, Ward and libero Georgia Blaze are the only seniors on a team that includes nine freshmen and sophomores, signaling a bright future for a team that sets a state championship as its annual goal.

“Replacing Emily Brooks and Emi Lott was not an easy task,” Moon said. “They’ve been a part of Macon East volleyball for years. I think my libero, Georgia Blaze, stepped into that (leadership) role and tried to keep everybody positive and on task. We should be proud of where we are today, no matter the outcome. Of course, we wanted to win, everybody wants to win, that’s why we’re here. But it says something about where you come from when it’s considered not a great year when you lose in the final four.”