Prattville Christian has a knack for learning from its mistakes and that ability paid off after dropping an early-season tournament to its eventual state title match opponent.

The seventh-ranked Panthers dominated the opening set but had to fend for their (9) lives in the final few frames in a 3-1 win over No. 2 Plainview, 25-13, 16-25, 25-22 and 25-22, in the 2022 AHSAA Class 3A title match Thursday morning at Birmingham’s Bill Harris Arena.

Prattville Christian (38-19) wins its first state title in program history after missing the state tournament last season, making an appearance in 3 of the last 4 tournaments.

“I am incredibly proud of this team,” Prattville Christian coach Kaylon Cantrell said. “We had a motto this year, ‘whatever it takes,’ and we would do whatever it takes to get here this season to bring home that blue map. These girls have put in work, day after day, and they did it.”

Hannah Jones took home tournament MVP honors in leading the Panthers with 30 kills in the title match. The senior also earned consecutive all-state honors in helping lead Prattville Christian to back-to-back girls’ basketball state titles (2020-2021 and 2021-2022)

“It’s a great feeling and I couldn’t do it without my teammates and having encouraging coaches along the way,” Jones said. “It’s definitely been a process but an exciting one.”

Prattville Christian made no bones about their intentions in the opening set, shooting out to a 9-0 lead before Plainview closed the gap to 17-10. The Panthers finished off the set on an 8-3 run, taking a 25-13 win, but were unable to keep the momentum on their side to open the second frame.

Plainview built an 8-2 lead early in the second set, but a 9-5 run by the Panthers cut the advantage to 13-11. The Bears powered ahead on a 6-2 run, allowing Prattville Christian to trim the lead back to as low as four points, and closed out its only set win with a 5-0 run.

The final two sets were similar in fashion, both teams battling to multiple ties before the Panthers sealed each win with a kill from Jones. The third frame saw Plainview jump out to a 9-5 lead, but Prattville Christian fought back to take a 16-12 advantage before the Bears were able to tie it back up at 19-all. An attack error and Jones’ kill put the finishing touches on the set after Plainview pulled to within 23-22 in the waning moments.

The fourth and final frame was a tense battle to a 6-all tie early, and Plainview surged ahead to a 9-5 lead before the Panthers took command on an 11-3 run. The Bears were able to tie the set back up at 16-all but another strong closing run from Prattville Christian, aided by a serving error and Jones’ final kill, lifted the Panthers to a hard-fought championship.

Stat sheet: Jones led the Panthers with 30 kills, adding 17 digs, followed by Coco Thomas with 15 kills. Baylee Rogers finished with 44 assists, 16 digs, 5 aces and 3 kills, Avery Rogers had 15 digs and 4 assists, and Natalee Wheeler contributed 10 digs and an ace. Sally Swindall had 5 kills and 2 digs, and Brylee Byrd and Emma Cate Carter combined for 13 digs and 3 aces.

For the Bears, Jocelyn Hatfield led the way with 12 kills, 9 digs and 2 aces, followed by Saydi Jackson with 10 kills and 4 digs. Aubriella Hairston and Faith Odom had 8 kills each, Kami Sanders put up 7 kills, 5 digs and 4 aces, and Ali Price finished with 26 assists and 16 digs. Kinsley Martin contributed 19 assists and 7 digs, and Abby McGee added 20 digs.

All-Tournament Team: Joining Jones (MVP) on the All-Tournament team were teammates Rogers and Thomas, along with Plainview’s Hatfield and Jackson and Ohatchee’s Jorda Crook.