Gatorade today announced Anna Grace Sparks of McGill-Toolen as its state volleyball Player of the Year.

Sparks was also named the AL.com state Player of the Year along with the Coastal Region Player of the Year and earned Class 7A MVP honors after leading the Dirty Dozen to the championship. She was named Class 7A first team all-state by the Alabama High School Volleyball Coaches Association and was American Volleyball Coaches Association first ream All-American.

“She has a full arsenal of shots and never shied away from the big moments,” said Huntsville High School coach Melanie Donahoo. “She stood out a lot offensively with hitting, but her defense and serve-receive were really good, too.”

Sparks compiled 576 kills, 314 digs, 39 blocks and 41 aces, including 17 kills and 10 digs in the state championship match while leading McGill-Toolen to its 22nd AHSAA title. She is the seventh McGill-Toolen player to be selected Gatorade volleyball state Player of the Year.

The award recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court. She becomes a finalist for the Gatorade national Player of the Year award to be announced in January.

Sparks has volunteered locally with Fostering Together Gulf Coast, collecting supplies for babies in foster care in the Gulf Coast Region, and on behalf of Friends of Exceptional Children, a school club dedicated to special needs children. She also has donated her time to the annual Little Sisters of the Poor Lawn Party, which raises funds for the Little Sisters of the Poor elderly care facility.

The senior has maintained a 3.79 weighted GPA in the classroom and signed a signed a national Letter of Intent to play volleyball on scholarship at Queens University of Charlotte.