The vaunted Spanish Fort volleyball program added another trophy to its already full cabinet Thursday, as the Lady Toros took down Jasper, 3-1, to claim the AHSAA 5A State Championship.
Spanish …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
Please log in to continue |
The vaunted Spanish Fort volleyball program added another trophy to its already full cabinet Thursday, as the Lady Toros took down Jasper, 3-1, to claim the AHSAA 5A State Championship.
Spanish Fort secured its third straight state title with this result, as Gretchen Boykins' team won three out of four sets (25-21, 25-27, 25-16, 25-23) to claim another crown.
The team had won a pair of 6A titles prior to moving to 5A this season, with this being the program's sixth championship all-time.
The Lady Vikings were actually the last of the Lady Toros' three losses this season, adding a revenge element onto this bout.
"You learn more from your losses than your wins, and there's no doubt that after we lost to Jasper, as a coach I sat back and looked at a lot of things," Boykin said. "I thought things were going great, but I said 'You know what, there are some things that can be better.' So we made some changes in our lineup, and I think that really helped us out for the rest of the season."
Tournament MVP junior Natalie Maxwell led the Lady Toros with 13 kills and four blocks, and the team as a whole finished with 20 service aces.
Cailyn Boykin, the daughter of Coach Boykin, finished with 38 assists and seven aces. Junior Cayden Doger added 11 kills and 12 digs, fellow junior London Tucker recorded nine kills and sophomore Delaney Duncan tacked on seven aces.
Dorger, Duncan and Boykin were each named to the All-Tournament team.
To reach this stage, the Lady Toros swept Southside in the 5A quarterfinals and took down Mountain Brook, 3-1, in the semifinals.In that semifinal bout, Tucker led Spanish Fort with 18 kills and seven digs, Dorger added 12 kills and 19 digs and Boykin tallied 50 assists, five kills and 12 digs. Duncan added 11 kills and Maxwell had nine kills.
And in the quarterfinals, the Lady Toros earned a 25-21, 25-20, 25-19 victory. Duncan had 14 kills and seven digs while Dorger added 12 kills, 16 assists, three aces and two assists for Spanish Fort. Junior Olivia Downey had 13 digs and six kills while Boykin stuffed the stat sheet with 39 assists, three aces, six digs and four kills.
Prior to this tournament, Spanish Fort swept a trio of games on its way to finishing first at the South Super Regionals in Montgomery.
The Lady Toros finish another memorable campaign with an overall record of 59-3.
"I'm just so proud of the team effort," a teary-eyed Boykin said. "We had people come off the bench to make key plays...and it's those people that come in and make great teams. As a coach, that's what makes me most proud."
*All-Tournament
**Tournament MVP
