See Day 2 winner, vote for the Day 3 AHSAA Volleyball Tournament Player of the Day
The Alabama High School Athletic Association’s 54th Elite Eight State Volleyball Championships wrapped up on Thursday with the crowning of the champs in Class 1A, 3A and 5A.
Spring Garden took the 1A title, Mobile Christian won the 3A championship and UMS-Wright captured the 5A crown. The other title winners for the week were McGill-Toolen in 7A, Spanish Fort in Class 6A, Prattville Christian in Class 4A and Pleasant Valley in 2A.
Be sure to check out our survey below and make your choice for the State Volleyball Player of the Day from Day 3.
More than 5,500 voters took part in our poll to decide the Day 2 State Volleyball Tournament Player of the Day.
Amelia Smith of St. Luke’s was the top vote-getter with 5,732 votes. Her 94 percent of the 5,732 total votes almost surpassed the 95 percent garnered by Faith Academy’s Parker Goff in Week 8 as the largest margin of the season.
In a 3-2 loss to Ohatchee in the Class 3A semifinals, Smith had 21 kills, 21 digs and 3 aces. In a 3-1 quarterfinals win over Lauderdale County, the junior outside hitter had 25 kills and 25 digs, 4 blocks and 2 aces.
Maddy Gullahorn of University Charter finished second in the balloting with 3 percent of the vote. Gullahorn, a senior middle hitter, helped lead the Livingston school into the Class 1A championship with a 3-1 win over Addison in the semifinals. She had 13 kills, 5 blocks and 3 digs. In a 3-0 win over Faith Christian in the quarterfinals, Gullahorn had 18 kills, 5 blocks, 3 digs and 2 aces.
Prattville Christian’s Emma Cate Carter was third in the survey with 2 percent of the total. Carter, who earned MVP honors, led the Panthers in a 3-1 win over Alexandria in the Class 4A championship match. She finished with 24 kills in the title match as PCA finished the season at 45-14.
The Day 3 nominees in alphabetical order, selected from official stats from the state finals:
Ace Austin, Spring Garden. The senior standout earned her second straight Class 1A MVP award as Spring Garden won its second straight championship with a 3-0 win over University Charter of Livingston. Austin finished with 31 kills and 14 digs in the title match. In three matches in the tournament, she finished with 73 kills, 30 digs and 3 aces.
Chloe Duggan, Faith Academy. The sophomore setter had 24 assists and 10 digs in the Class 5A title match loss to UMS-Wright. The Rams finished 35-16 on the season.
Rebecca Henderson, Ohatchee. The senior finished with 11 kills and 5 digs in the Indians’ Class 3A loss to Mobile Christian in the title match. Ohatchee (41-10) was looking for its first state championship and was one of three Calhoun County schools to reach a state final this week – Pleasant Valley won the 2A title and Alexandira was runner-up in 4A.
Melaina Haines, Mobile Christian. The junior outside hitter and setter led the Leopards to their first state championship with a triple double – 19 kills, 17 assists and 15 digs. Haines was named the Class 3A tournament MVP as Mobile Christian beat Ohatchee 3-0. The Leopards finished the season at 39-10.
Ella Claire Sullivan, UMS-Wright. A junior defensive specialist, Sullivan had a team-high 17 digs with 3 assists and 2 aces for the Bulldogs in a 3-0 win over Faith Academy to win the Class 5A championship. UMS-Wright finished 43-7 in winning the program’s first state crown.
Brinkli Wood, University Charter. The senior outside hitter had 20 kills and 13 digs in the Class 1A title match loss to Spring Garden. The third-ranked Trailblazers finished at 32-7.
If you don’t see the poll, click here. Voting is open until 5 p.m. Friday and the top vote-getter will be announced on Saturday. Be sure to click “Finish survey” to place your vote.