AISA CLASS AA VOLLEYBALL: Southern Academy tops Lowndes for title
Lowndes Academy’s Camryn Hess skies for a shot in the Class A Championship game against Southern Academy on Tuesday. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
The first set between Lowndes Academy and Southern Academy was fiercely contested with neither side gaining any advantage until Lowndes pulled out a 25-22 victory.
The second set was similar in the early moments before Abby Sluder took charge of the Cougars, the set and the match.
“I think we had a little bit of nerves in the first set,” Sluder said. “We came to the side and we were like, we’re playing for so much bigger. Yes, we’re playing for a state championship but at the same time we’re playing for God. We just realized that we’re playing for something so much bigger so whatever happens is OK, but since we have the ability to be on the court, we need to use all of our might to get to where we are now.
“It was such a great team to do it with. Every single person was determined and I felt like we were really disciplined those last three sets.”
The Southern Academy junior helped her team rally in the next three sets, 25-14, 25-18 and 25-13 to give Southern the Alabama Independent School Association’s Class AA state volleyball championship over Lowndes in the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl on Tuesday afternoon.
“It feels absolutely incredible,” Sluder said. “We have worked since the end of May, putting in so many hours every single day. I feel it means a lot to our school, too, because most of the time everybody thinks we’re a male dominated school and it feels great to show them we can do it, too. It just feels great to prove our worth. The past years, we haven’t really won many state championships. We were like that school that was just there and now we’ve made our move in the AISA.”
Both schools felt that way. Lowndes (29-3) is a fixture in the state volleyball tournament but has never won a state title. Southern (27-7) had just one championship (2019) before Tuesday and its last appearance in the finals was 2020.
And the Rebels, under first-year coach McCall Burkett, grabbed the upper hand in a back-and-forth physical battle in the early moments of the match until Sluder’s commanding presence at the net swung the momentum to the Cougars.
“That is everyone’s battle,” Burkett said. “She’s very good, very tall, knows exactly where to place the ball. Our strategy, obviously, was to keep the ball away from her but take advantage of when she’s on the back row and try to get our points then and be smart about it. But when she’s on the front row, she’s a force to be reckoned with.”
The Rebels lost all three games this season to state champions -- one to Southern and two to Class A champion Macon East -- with a junior-dominated squad that includes just one senior, Camryn Hess.
“We have a very athletic group of girls,” Burkett said. “Cam, our senior, is fantastic. She’s a dynamic athlete in every sport that she plays. Our junior class, we have a ton of them and they’ve played together all their lives in everything. This year, it was more about chemistry. Everyone just clicked, worked together, fought hard and that’s what made this year fly by seemingly like a breeze.
“They’re fighters. It’s been a really fun year watching them.”
And with every player returning next year, Burkett is hopeful Lowndes can punch through and win its first volleyball championship.
“Cam’s a big loss, we’ll miss her for sure, but with only one senior leaving, we’ve got very high expectations for next year,” Burkett said.
Joining Sluder on the all-tournament team were teammates Caroline Christmas and Mallory Newton, Hess and Catie Wallace Self of Lowndes Academy, Baylie Barrett of Edgewood Academy and Henlee Garvin of Hooper Academy.