Class 6A volleyball: Bayside Academy powers past Spanish Fort for 21st consecutive state title
There no longer exists any superlatives to describe the sheer dominance of the Bayside Academy volleyball program after extending its own nation-leading state title streak.
Toss the wordy-word books aside and begin anew.
Brudominasty.
Brutal. Dominant. Dynasty.
The second-ranked Admirals can celebrate yet another milestone with their state title winning-streak making it to the legal drinking age following a 3-2 win over No. 3 Spanish Fort, 20-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-11 and 15-12, in the 2022 AHSAA Class 6A title match Thursday at Birmingham’s Bill Harris Arena.
“I’m extremely proud, we give all the honor and glory to God,” Bayside Academy coach Ann Schilling said. “They realized they had some fight in them when we came back and did a reverse week at super regionals with Northridge. That was probably our hardest challenge, convincing them that we could do it.”
Bayside Academy (53-13) not only wins its 21st straight state championship, ranging from Class 2A to Class 5A, before entering Class 6A this season, but the Admirals have now won 31 total volleyball titles spanning five decades and six classifications.
The consecutive state title streak, overall number of state titles and titles won through classifications extend Bayside Academy’s national high school records.
The last time Bayside Academy did not win a state title was the 2001 season — ending in a semifinal loss to Geraldine in the Class 2A semifinals — as the Admirals have won 148 of their last 150 state tournament matches.
“It’s hard to repeat and we’ve done it 21 times,” Schilling said. “It’s incredible and unbelievable.”
Blakeley Robbins took home tournament MVP honors in leading the Admirals with 57 assists in the title match, adding 11 digs, 4 kills and 4 aces.
“I was like, ‘I got to get this, I got to get this,” Robbins said. “Over and in.”
Spanish Fort got the better of the Admirals to open the final set, bolting out to a 4-1 lead before Bayside Academy called a much-needed timeout. Coming out of the break, the Admirals went on a 9-4 run to take a 10-8 lead and eventually set up the match point with a 14-10 lead. The lead was trimmed to two points but a Georgia McInnis kill clinched the set for Bayside Academy, extending its state title streak to 21 consecutive championships.
The Toros (46-15) broke a 6-all tie in the opening set and built a 12-8 lead on a 6-2 run. The Admirals managed to pull within two points but Spanish Fort clinched a 25-20 win in the first set. The third set also belonged to the Toros, opening up a 9-5 lead and never trailing in the 25-21 set victory.
“Super proud of my team, they really had a great season,” Spanish Fort coach Gretchen Boykin said. “They came together and played as an amazing team. It’s tough not being able to finish it. We beat (Bayside Academy) in area and regionals and it is tough when you have two great teams and only one can win.”
Bayside Academy knotted the match up at 1-1 following the second set, rallying from a 10-5 deficit on an 8-0 run to take an 18-13 lead. The Toros got as close as two points twice in the waning moments but Haley Robinson’s kill brought the set to a close. Facing another early tie in the fourth set, the Admirals broke free on an 11-4 run and closed out the frame with a set-clinching 8-1 run to force a fifth and final set.
Stat sheet: Haley Robinson led the Admirals with 19 kills, followed by Misty Kate Smith with 14 kills, adding 15 digs on the side. Maysie Douglas had 13 kills, Georgia McInnis added 11 kills, and Mary Whitehurst finished with 34 digs and 2 aces. Grier Broughton contributed 21 digs, 3 kills and 2 aces, and Lucy Fralle added 10 digs.
For the Toros, Reese Varden led the way with 21 kills, followed by Bailey Hope with 8 kills, including 27 digs. Taylor Ishmael and Mary Lyles both had 7 kills each, the latter adding 35 digs. Alexis Belarmino finished with 45 assists, 17 digs, 2 kills and 2 aces, Delaney Clough with 21 digs,
All-Tournament Team: Joining Robbins (MVP) on the All-Tournament team were teammates Robinson and Smith, along with Spanish Fort’s Belarmino, Hope and Varden.