Pelham jumped out and scored the first four points of the opening set in Wednesday’s Class 6A State Championship match against Spanish Fort at Birmingham’s Bill Harris Arena. However, that would be the Panthers’ largest lead of the day as the Toros roared back and earned their fourth Blue Map trophy with a 3-0 sweep (25-21, 26-24, 25-19).

The win marked Spanish Fort’s first state title since going back-to-back in 2018 and 2019. With another Blue Map trophy from 2015, as well as Red Map trophies as state runners-up in 2016 and 2022, Hall of Fame head coach Gretchen Boykin has helped add to the Toros’ trophy room since taking the helm in 2014.

Ishmael named MVP

Senior hitter Taylor Ishmael, whose 13th kill of the championship match served as the match point, was awarded MVP honors alongside sophomore setter Cailyn Boykin and junior hitter Caroline Downey who represented Spanish Fort on the All-Tournament team. Cailyn helped run the offense and finished with 36 assists, 3 service aces, 7 digs and 2 kills as Downey racked up 10 kills and 2 digs and Ishmael registered 8 digs.

Senior classmates Camryn McMinn (17 kills, 9 digs, 2 aces), Kylee Hester (24 assists, 7 digs) and Londyn Wynn (9 kills, 8 digs) from Pelham helped round out the Class 6A All-Tournament Team.

More Toro stats

Junior Victoria Holley, the Toros’ libero, recorded a team-high 15 digs to go along with 2 assists and 1 ace as junior hitter Zoe Beech contributed 8 kills, 10 digs, 2 assists and 1 ace. Senior Carlyn McAllister racked up 9 digs, 7 kills and 1 ace and freshman Natalie Maxwell threw down 4 kills.

Road to the Blue Map

Spanish Fort started its road to Bill Harris Arena with a Class 6A Area 2 championship at home. The Toros then opened the South Regional Championship with wins over Hueytown and Montgomery Academy to punch their ticket to state for the third-consecutive year.

Although Spanish Fort fell to Chelsea in the regional semifinals, the Toros bounced back to win the third-place match over Gulf Shores. Following a first-round sweep of Hazel Green to kick off the state tournament, Spanish Fort avenged its regional loss to Chelsea and used a 3-0 win to earn a spot in Wednesday’s finals.

Pelham collected state tournament wins over Jasper and Gulf Shores to earn its first state title berth since 2017. According to the Alabama High School Football Historical Society, the Panthers took home their fifth overall Red Map trophy after runner-up finishes in 1989, 1994, 2008 and 2014 to join Blue Maps from 1993, 1997 and 2017.

Follow @GCMSportsAL on social media and visit gulfcoastmedia.com/sports for more coverage of Spanish Fort’s state championship.