Six local volleyball teams will represent Baldwin County in their respective classification’s state championship bracket when the AHSAA tournament kicks off on Tuesday in Birmingham.

Orange Beach (Class 4A) and Fairhope (Class 7A) earned runner-up finishes at the South Regional Championships and earned a No. 2 seed for first-round matches set for Oct. 29.

Also in Class 4A, St. Michael earned a third-place finish at regionals as did Spanish Fort in Class 6A. In their first year in new classifications, Gulf Shores (Class 6A) and Bayside Academy (Class 7A) extended their postseasons as No. 4 seeds in the state bracket.

The Cardinals from St. Michael and Pirates from Fairhope will be making their first state tournament appearances since 2021. The makos from Orange Beach are returning to the last tournament of the season for the first time since 2022 and the Gulf Shores Dolphins and Spanish Fort Toros extended state streaks to three years in a row.

The Admirals from Bayside Academy have qualified for every AHSAA State Volleyball Tournament since the school fielded its first team in 1980.

State brackets

One state bracket could produce a Baldwin County match in the semifinals but the other two would be with a Blue Map trophy on the line in the finals. If Bayside Academy and Fairhope both win first-round matches, the Eastern Shore squads would meet for a fourth time this season where the Admirals have won the two most recent meetings, including for the Class 7A Area 3 championship on Oct. 16.

If Spanish Fort and Gulf Shores meet in the Class 6A bracket, or if St. Michael and Orange Beach clash at the Class 4A level, a state championship would be returning to Baldwin County no matter what. The Toros won all four matches against the Dolphins this season, including for the Class 6A Area 2 title, and the Cardinals bested the Makos in two matches this year, including for the Class 4A Area 1 championship.

End of road

Three other teams found the end of the road in the regional round where Bayshore Christian (Class 2A) lost in the second round and Elberta (Class 5A) and Daphne (Class 7A) fell in the first round.

Below are regional results and first-round state pairings for the AHSAA State Volleyball Championships. Follow @GCMSportsAL on social media for immediate updates and visit gulfcoastmedia.com/sports for full coverage.

South Regional Championships

Class 2A

First round: Bayshore Christian 3, Reelton 0

Second round: Tuscaloosa Academy 3, Bayshore Christian 0

Class 4A

First round: Orange Beach 3, Munford 0; St. Michael 3, Cleburne County 0

Second round: Orange Beach 3, Ashford 0; St. Michael 3, Geneva 0

Semifinals: Orange Beach 3, Straughn 1; Prattville Christian 3, St. Michael 0

Third-place match: St. Michael 3, Straughn 0

Finals: Prattville Christian 3, Orange Beach 2

Class 5A

First round: Briarwood Christian 3, Elberta 0

Class 6A

First round: Spanish Fort 3, Hueytown 0; Gulf Shores 3, McAdory 0

Second round: Spanish Fort 3, Montgomery Academy 2; Gulf Shores 3, Stanhope Elmore 0

Semifinals: Chelsea 3, Spanish Fort 1; Pelham 3, Gulf Shores 1

Third-place match: Spanish Fort 3, Gulf Shores 0

Class 7A

First round: Fairhope 3, St. Paul’s 0; Bayside Academy 3, Alma-Bryant 0; Enterprise 3, Daphne 1

Semifinals: Fairhope 3, Enterprise 0; McGill-Toolen 3, Bayside Academy 0

Third-place match: Enterprise 3, Bayside Academy 2

Finals: McGill-Toolen 3, Fairhope 0

AHSAA State Championships

Class 4A

First round (Oct. 29 at noon): St. Michael at Madison County; Central-Florence at Orange Beach

Class 6A

First round (Oct. 29 at 9 a.m.): Gulf Shores at Buckhorn; Spanish Fort at Hazel Green

Class 7A

First round (Oct. 29 at 1:30 p.m.): Bayside Academy at Bob Jones; Vestavia Hills at Fairhope