Birmingham, AL – Ohatchee wins five-set thriller over St. Luke’s to earn first state-final berth. Spring Garden sweeps through to finals, chance to defend its title.
Pairings
STATE TOURNAMENT
CLASS 4A
Tuesday, Oct. 29
Birmingham CrossPlex
Alexandria def. Straughn, 3-0
Orange Beach def. Central-Florence, 3-0
Prattville Christian def. Cherokee County, 3-0
Madison County def. St. Michael, 3-0
Semifinals
Alexandria def. Orange Beach, 3-0
Prattville Christian 3, Madison County 2
Wednesday, Oct. 30
Championship
Bill Harris Arena
Prattville Christian def. Alexandria, 3-1
CLASS 3A
Wednesday, Oct. 30
Birmingham CrossPlex
Ohatchee def. T.R. Miller, 3-1
St. Luke’s def. Lauderdale County, 3-1
Mobile Christian def. Geraldine, 3-0
Donoho def. Alabama Christian, 3-0
Semifinals
Ohatchee def. St. Luke’s, 3-2
Mobile Christian def. Donoho, 3-0
Thursday, Oct. 31
Championship
Bill Harris Arena
Mobile Christian vs. Ohatchee, 2 p.m.
CLASS 2A
Tuesday, Oct. 29
Birmingham CrossPlex
Pleasant Valley def. Horseshoe Bend, 3-0
Mars Hill Bible def. Tuscaloosa Academy, 3-0
Winston County def. G.W. Long, 3-1
Lindsay Lane def. Washington County, 3–0
Semifinals
Pleasant Valley def. Mars Hill Bible, 3-2
Lindsay Lane def. Winston County, 3-1
Wednesday, Oct. 30
Championship
Bill Harris Arena
Pleasant Valley def. Lindsay Lane, 3-1
CLASS 1A
Wednesday, Oct. 30
Birmingham CrossPlex
Spring Garden def. Millry, 3-0
Ider def. Kinston, 3-0
University Charter def. Faith Christian, 3-0
Addison def. Brantley, 3-0
Semifinals
Spring Garden def. Ider, 3-0
University Charter def. Addison, 3-0
Thursday, Oct. 31
Championship
Bill Harris Arena
Spring Garden vs. University Charter, noon\
Editor’s note: WEIS sports director Shannon Fagan contributed to this report.
By Joe Medley
The moment of Ohatchee securing its first-ever berth in a state-final berth was perfect enough to suspend Rebecca Henderson in the nexus between tears and a joyful smile, but teammate Alanah Fitch gave her a sign.
Not a sign of things to come, but an actual white cardboard sign with a marker–made message asking Henderson for her autograph.
It’s an inside joke between Henderson and Fitch, Henderson said, but it encapsulated a moment for a player and a program that was given up for dead when a generational player named Jorda Crook graduated two years ago and took her considerable talents to UAB.
“It’s been hard,” Henderson said. “We’ve been doubted by a lot of people, especially without Jorda, and we wanted to come back and make our mark, and I felt as if I had to fill the shoes of her since she’s been gone.”
Ironically, Crook won’t have to go far to see her high school team Thursday. The Indians (41-9) will play Mobile Christian in the Class 3A state final at 2 p.m. in Bill Harris Arena.
Ohatchee became the third team from Calhoun County to reach this year’s finals and fourth from the area. Pleasant Valley won the 2A state title Wednesday, and Alexandria finished as the 4A runner up.
Spring Garden will attempt to defend its 1A title against University Charter at noon on Thursday.
Ohatchee got there by beating T.R. Miller 20-25, 25-18, 25-14, 25-14 in Wednesday’s quarterfinals then winning a five-setter against St. Luke’s, 25-21, 14-25, 22-25, 25-23 and 15-4.
Mobile Christian swept Geraldine and Donoho on Wednesday.
Ohatchee made its first Elite Eight appearance since 2009 in 2022, and Crook finished her high school career in the CrossPlex. They’ll get to play across the property this year, in Bill Harris Arena, site of the finals.
“We knew we wanted one more to get ourselves there, and this is the team to do it,” Ohatchee coach Rebecca Hughes said. “It’s their heart. They do not give up.”
That showed against St. Luke’s on Wednesday, when Ohatchee rallied from a 1-2 hole and rallied a few more times to win the fourth set.
They rode momentum while dominating the fifth set.
Hughes goosed the Indians’ determination in the fourth set.
“Basically, I just told them, ‘You don’t want this to be your last set of volleyball,’” she said. “I told them nobody deserved it more than them, and we believed in them, and they just had to believe in themselves.”
When it was all over, Henderson got to mark a signature accomplishment by signing her signature.
“I’ve tried to step up for these girls and be a leader,” she said. “It’s been fun.”
Ohatchee’s top performers Wednesday:
—Alanah Fitch: 25 kills, 57 assists, two aces, 23 digs.
—Brett Finn: five kills, six aces, five digs, one assist.
—Rebecca Henderson: 54 kills, two aces, 20 digs, one block, one assist.
—Kate Ryan: 26 assists, nine digs.
—Emily Riddle: 18 kills, six assists, two digs, four blocks.
—Ayla Crook: four kills, one ace, 12 digs.
—Bailey Fowler: five kills, five digs, one ace, two blocks.
—Savannah Reaves: one kill, five assists, 19 digs.
DONOHO: Donoho swept through the quarterfinals, beating Alabama Christian 25-23, 25-17, 25-11 then fell to Mobile Christian 25-, 25-. 25- to finish the season 36-18.
Their season included runs to the Calhoun County semifinals and state semifinals. Seniors Samantha Wakefield, Ryals Jones and Lindsey Brewer saw their careers in where the Falcons spent a lot of late Octobers and early Novembers in recent years … in Birmingham.
This after the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s competitive balance rule for private schools forced Donoho, a Class 1A school by enrollment, to make its second move up, to Class 3A.
“I really didn’t know where the season would end,” Donoho coach Anna Taylor said. “I thought we had a solid team at the new level.
“We had a lot of ups and downs throughout the year, had a lot of players grow into positions, but we made it here.”
Donoho’s top performers Wednesday:
—Kate Williamon: 10 kills, one assist, three aces, 17 digs.
—Samantha Wakefield: 22 kills, 14 digs.
—Ryals Jones: 11 kills, two digs, three blocks, three aces.
—Callee Taylor: three kills, 44 assists, seven digs, one ace.
—Ava Michaels: three kills, eight digs.
—Bentlee Pahman: one kill, one assist, two aces, 12 digs.
—Chloe Melton: one kill, three aces, seven digs.
—Alana Maldonado: two kills, two blocks, one ace.
—Lindsey Brewer: one dig.
—Anna Kate Whitson: one ace, four digs, one ace.
Class 1A
SPRING GARDEN: The defending state championship Panthers swept their way to the semifinals by beating Millry 25-4, 25-10, 25-4 then Ider,
The Panthers (38-11) will play University Charter in Thursday’s Class 1A final in Bill Harris Arena.
Spring Garden senior outside hitter Ace Austin summed up the Panthers’ time in Birmingham as a business trip, and the proof is in the pudding.
Just moments after Spring Garden swept Ider, Austin and her teammates hurriedly packed up and headed across Birmingham CrossPlex to watch the other state semifinal match, between University Charter and Addison.
University Charter swept Addison in three sets, setting up a state championship rematch from last year. The Panthers swept that match last year 25-12, 26-24, 25-12 to win their first state volleyball title since 2007.
“As a coach, I absolutely love it, that they’re that dialed in all together,” Spring Garden coach Ricky Austin said of his team’s focus. “They’re sitting there trying to scope out the competition. Maybe they’ve been around me a little bit. Maybe I’m rubbing off on them a little bit.”
Like father, like daughter.
“We weren’t too high about that (Ider) win,” Ace Austin said. “We’re on a business trip. We know it’s going to be a dogfight (with University Charter). It’s kind of been an up-and-down year for us, but I think since the area tournament we’ve gone up.”
‘Gone up’ might be understating things a bit.
Since postseason began with the Class 1A, Area 12 tournament, the Panthers (38-11) have swept their way through all their playoff matches.
Spring Garden swept Ider twice during their perfect playoff run, defeating the Hornets last week at the North Super Regional in Hoover, 25-9, 25-15 and 25-12.
“That’s difficult to do,” Coach Austin said. “That’s why we try to play above our head all year long, so that when you get to your level, you’re still above the level.”
Spring Garden’s top performers Wednesday:
—Ace Austin: 42 kills, 16 digs, three aces, one block.
—Avery Steward: 65 assists, four digs, one kill, one ace.
—Maggie Jarrett: six aces, 12 digs, 12 kills, two blocks.
—Olivia Law: 10 kills, nine digs, two aces, one assist, one block.
—Kristen Lewis: 20 digs, three aces.
—Chloe Fennell: three kills.
—Montana Highfield: two kills.
—Hollis Jane Petty: three aces, one dig.
—Lacie Jo McMurray: two digs.
UNIVERSITY CHARTER 3, FAITH CHRISTIAN 0: The Lions fell 19-25, 11-25, 25-27 and finished the season 22-22.
Faith Christian’s top performers:
—Cheyanne Rice: one dig, eight kills, five blocks.
—Anna Kate Robertson: eight digs, 16 assists, one kill, one ace.
—Serenity Pate: two digs, four kills.
—Kayson Cronan: 20 digs, four assists, one ace.
—Annie Ricard: five digs, seven kills, three blocks.
—Anna Daniel: five digs, two kills.
—Amy Hubbard: three digs.
—Emma Shaw: three digs, two kills.
