BIRMINGHAM – Guntersville High School closed out the volleyball season Wednesday with the Wildcats’ 64th victory of the year with a 25-21, 35-23, 25-17 win over Montgomery Catholic in the AHSAA Class 5A state finals at Bill Harris Arena.
The 64 wins tied the school record second most wins in a season – tying with the 2008 team. Three years later in 2011, Guntersville won the state title posting a 74-5 record. That accomplished was not denoted in the AHSAA Record Book, however.
and Mary George Vandergriff (2) move into position. (AHSAA photo/David Holtsford)
The state record for wins in a single season (79) was set by Huntsville in 2002. The 64 wins were the most in a single season since Spanish Fort and Carbon Hill each won 65 in 2018.
The final win, said Guntersville coach Melissa-Paul Gardner, was what all the demanding work this season was leading up to.
“I watched for the last weeks, and they were playing together the best I had seen them play,” she said. “We wanted to be at our best at the end.”
Sophomore Italey May had 16 kills to pace the Wildcats. She also earned 5A state tourney MVP honors. Senior setter Mary George Vandergriff had 37 assists, four service aces and 13 digs. Sydney Jarmon also had 11 kills and Shiloh Stanley had eight. Jarmon also had 14 digs, and Caroline Canady had 16.
Montgomery Catholic (31-14), coached by Jenn Denham, got strong performances at the net from Kierstyn Green and Joi McGuire. Both had 12 kills. McGuire also had 11 digs and Kierston had 14. Lucy Logsdon also had 13 assists, and 12 digs and Zaria Rudolph had seven kills, 14 assists and 11 digs.
The championship was the sixth overall and the first for Guntersville since 2011.
For Gardner, it was the third state title she has been a part of. She won a crown at Hartselle as a player, coached a state championship team in Indiana, and now she has coached a championship in Alabama.
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