Four teams from Baldwin County punched their ticket to the Alabama High School Athletic Association's state volleyball tournament with at least a quarterfinal spot from this week’s South Super …
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Four teams from Baldwin County punched their ticket to the Alabama High School Athletic Association's state volleyball tournament with at least a quarterfinal spot from this week’s South Super Regional in Montgomery.
Both Bayside Academy and Spanish Fort will be featured in the Class 6A tournament, Gulf Shores will be back in the Class 5A state bracket and Bayshore Christian advanced to the Class 2A state tournament.
On the Class 4A stage, Orange Beach opened the regional tournament with a win over Andalusia but lost to Montgomery Catholic in the second round to close its season. Fairhope (7A), Elberta (5A) and Snook Christian (AISA-1A) all fell in first-round matches to find the end of their seasons.
The Birmingham CrossPlex is scheduled to host the AHSAA State Tournaments next week starting Tuesday, Oct. 31. The Bill Harris Arena is set to serve as the location where state champions will be crowned on Wednesday, Nov. 1 (3A, 5A, 6A, 2A) and Thursday, Nov. 2 (4A, 7A, 1A).
Class 6A: Bayside Academy and Spanish Fort
Baldwin County’s Class 6A representatives on the regional circuit used wins in the first round to extend state streaks.
The Admirals have not missed the state tournament since Ann Schilling took over as Bayside Academy’s head volleyball coach ahead of the 1987 season. The Toros have only missed the last bracket twice in Gretchen Boykin’s 10 years at the helm in Spanish Fort.
Bayside Academy beat St. James (3-0) and Northridge (3-0) to earn a spot in the Elite Eight. The Admirals added a 3-0 win over McAdory to set up a championship match against the Saraland Spartans at 6:30 p.m.
Spanish Fort beat Pike Road (3-1) and Pelham (3-2) to earn a spot in the South’s Final Four. The Toros then fell 3-1 to Saraland to set up a third-place match against the McAdory Yellow Jackets, also at 6:30 p.m.
Class 5A: Gulf Shores and Elberta
The Dolphins are heading back to the state bracket for the second straight year which marks the first time on the final stage since repeat trips in 2010 and 2011. Ryan Gravlee wasted no time in making a trip to state in his first season as the Gulf Shores head volleyball coach after he went to the Elite Eight as Northridge’s head coach last season.
In their first-round matchup, the Elberta Warriors fell to the Rehobeth Rebels who went on to earn a spot in the third-place match after a loss to the Montgomery Academy Eagles.
Gulf Shores beat Providence Christian (3-1) and Beauregard (3-0) to clinch a return trip to state. The Dolphins added a 3-1 win over Sylacauga to set up a championship match at 5 p.m. against the Montgomery Academy Eagles at 5 p.m.
Elberta lost to Rehobeth (3-0) in the first round where the Rebels eventually made the third-place match against Sylacauga.
Class 2A: Bayshore Christian
The Eagles collected their fourth area title and state qualification in as many varsity seasons on the AHSAA circuit. They reached the state semifinals last season in their first year in Class 2A. Bayshore Christian won the 2020 state championship in Class 1A and followed that with a runner-up finish before moving up a classification due to the competitive balance factor.
Bayshore Christian beat J.U. Blacksher (3-0) and Pike Liberal Arts (3-0) to advance to the Elite Eight. The Eagles fell 3-2 to G.W. Long to set up a third-place match against the Wicksburg Panthers at 5 p.m.
Class 7A: Fairhope
In his first season at the helm of the Pirates, head coach Daniel Kalmar helped lead Fairhope to a 41-16 overall record which set a school record for most wins in a single season.
Fairhope lost to Enterprise (3-0) in the first round where the Wildcats advanced to the regional semifinals against St. Paul’s on Thursday at 10 a.m.
Class 4A: Orange Beach
The Makos have also been crowned area champions in all four seasons of varsity play on the AHSAA scene. This year, Orange Beach missed out on its fourth consecutive trip to state.
Orange Beach beat Andalusia (3-0) but lost to Montgomery Catholic (3-0) in the second round where the Knights advanced to face LAMP on Thursday at 10 a.m.
AISA Class A: Snook Christian
The Eagles similarly fell to Coosa Valley as a No. 4 seed against a top seed in last year’s state tournament.
Fourth-seeded Snook Chrisitan fell to top-seeded Coosa Valley in the first round where the Rebels went on to win the Class A state championship.