STATE VOLLEYBALL: Trinity captures crown over rival Catholic; MA advances to finals

By TIM GAYLE

BIRMINGHAM -- When Trinity took the third set from Catholic in impressive fashion, it had become the norm for Catholic in five previous meetings this season to grab the next set as the Wildcats struggled to maintain the same level of intensity.

Just as expected, Catholic roared out to a 15-5 lead in the 3A finals on Wednesday afternoon at the Birmingham CrossPlex’s Harris Arena.

“I think we wanted it really badly and we were determined to not let anything drop or hit the floor,” Trinity’s Emma Moody said. “We were determined to put every single ball down and get a touch on every single block. That motivated us to push through it and that, even though we were down 17-9, we could still do it.”

Trinity coach Sarah Dubberley called a timeout with her team trailing 17-9 and the Wildcats responded with six unanswered points, going on to win the fourth set 25-22 to capture their second consecutive state championship. 

“Their mental toughness, which is what we’ve been working on since I came to Trinity, was huge,” Dubberley said. “We were down 17-9 in the fourth (set) and I told them, ‘Y’all can do this, it’s just going to take it all.’ Seeing them persevere through that adversity was huge and I’m so proud of them.”

The first all-Montgomery matchup in a volleyball finals lived up to the hype of the previous five meetings between the area rivals, but that was little consolation to Sarah Dubberley’s husband Sellers, the head coach at Catholic. 

“I think it’s definitely noteworthy that you’ve got two teams, both from Montgomery, both in the same area, right down the road from each other, making their way through the bracket in short order to meet here in the state championship game,” he said. “It’s neat but we had higher goals than that.”

Catholic (39-8) had won in the first meeting in the Mayor’s Cup semifinals, again in the regular season as area rivals and again in the 3A Area 6 tournament. But Trinity (47-7) had won in the regular season, again in the South Super Regional championship match and again on Wednesday, becoming the only 3A team to defeat the Knights this season in 13 matchups with 3A competition. 

“The whole game was just mental,” Sellers Dubberley said. “First set, we’re up 24-22. Three or four match points we don’t win. Fourth set, we’re up 15-5. It’s mental, man. We finished those sets all year, we finished those sets yesterday. Something about it. I don’t know if it’s their jerseys or the girls on the other side or their fans or the situation, but we haven’t been able to finish off that team in two weeks and we’ve had every opportunity.

“We didn’t forget how to play the game, but just mentally they were more on point than we were.”

The two teams battled through an intense first set, with Lennon McAnnally’s kill giving the Knights a 26-25 before Trinity scored the next three points, the last on a Moody kill, to take the first set.

“I knew that the first set was going to be critical,” Sarah Dubberley said. “If we could pull out a win in the first set….

“Knowing that the nerves were there, the pressure’s there, the big arena, the crowd, I knew how important that first set was.”

But just as it has played out all season, Trinity’s win turned into Catholic’s motivation as the Knights fired out to a 9-3 lead in the second set and went on to win 25-17. 

Back came Trinity in the third set with a more impressive showing, pulling away for a 25-10 win as nothing seemed to work for the Knights.

“We weren’t putting the ball where we needed to put it, we weren’t finding the court,” Catholic senior Julienne Pharrams said. “Collectively, as a team, we kind of shut down and fell apart. Of course, there’s frustration there, not toward the team as a whole but just internally. I think everyone that was on that bench and on that court felt that.”

“What we always talk about is how volleyball is a game of mistakes,” Trinity’s Emma Kate Smith said, “and that set, we didn’t make as many mistakes. We were just on a roll, we were feeling it and we were the team that made less mistakes.”

As they did in the second set, Catholic roared out to an early lead, forcing Sarah Dubberley to spend a pair of timeouts to get her team to focus. This time, the Wildcats didn’t fade away.

“It was different each time we played them, on our part and how we played,” Moody said. “Half the time, we would play lights out; other times, me included, we just made a lot of unforced errors. But we came ready to play this game.”

For Trinity, Moody had 13 kills, one ace, a pair of blocks and a pair of digs and Smith had 13 kills and a block to lead the Wildcats. Reese Patterson had nine kills and three digs, Cherry had four kills, 42 assists and nine digs, Jordan Gallahar had a kill and three digs, Ella Grace Lowe had six aces and six digs, Mary Alice Sasser had a kill, an assist, an ace and a pair of digs, Mya Moskowitz had four kills, a block and two digs, Isabel Hill had two assists, three aces and nine digs, Gray Brendle had an ace and seven digs and Charlee Cone had four kills, an assist, six digs and four blocks. 

For Catholic, McAnnally had 14 kills, two assists, eight digs and a block and Rudolph had 12 kills, five aces, seven digs and three blocks to lead the Knights. Pharrams had eight kills, an ace, two digs and four blocks, Harper Howell had three kills and six blocks, Kathryn Reardon had three kills, an assist and a pair of blocks, Audrey Trant had a kill, 15 assists and six digs, Sophia Taylor had a kill, an assist and eight digs, Mally Barranco had four assists and 11 digs and Maria Schwarz had 17 assists and three digs. 

Setter Addison Cherry, for the second consecutive year, was named the most valuable player in the finals. 

“It’s really special,” Cherry said. “I’m really thankful and blessed for the best teammates and the best coaches.”

Joining her on the all-tournament team were Moody and Smith of Trinity and Pharrams, McAnnally and Allyse Rudolph of Catholic.

Montgomery Academy moves into 4A finals

Montgomery Academy rallied from a second-set loss to Madison County with wins in the third and fourth sets to advance to the finals for the 16th time in school history.

The three-time defending state champion Eagles (27-15) defeated Madison County 25-18, 18-25, 25-21 and 25-19 to advance to the 4A championship game against Westminster Christian in the AHSAA’s 51st annual state volleyball championships at Birmingham CrossPlex’s Harris Arena.

Montgomery Academy will play Westminster (40-8) on Thursday at 2 p.m. in search of their eighth state championship.

Freshman setter Addi Vinson, in her first year as a starter, topped the 1,000-assist mark on Wednesday, finishing with 40 assists, 18 digs, two blocks and two aces in the semifinal win. Elle McBride contributed 15 kills and four digs, Caroline McDaniel added 11 kills and six digs and Virginia Meacham had 10 kills and three blocks.

Earlier in the day, the Eagles swept a three-set match from Good Hope in the quarterfinals, winning 25-20, 25-15 and 25-18 to earn their 29th trip to the state semifinals. McBride had nine kills and three digs, seven kills and two blocks from Meacham, six kills, three digs and three aces from McDaniel  and 29 assists, 12 digs and three blocks from Vinson. 

For the second consecutive year, a rematch of area rivals was narrowly averted as LAMP lost in the semifinals to Westminster. The Golden Tigers, who placed second in the South Super Regional to area rival Montgomery Academy, defeated West Morgan in the quarterfinals, 25-13, 25-18, 20-25 and 25-17 to reach the semifinals for the third consecutive year.

For the Golden Tigers, Jailyn Dixon had 10 kills, while Gracey Norris added six. Grace Hoffman had 25 assists, 11 digs, six kills and two aces. Kolbi Bates added 19 digs.

In the semifinals, Westminster defeated the Golden Tigers 25-20, 22-25, 25-21 and 25-17. LAMP finished the season at 22-22.