AHSAA STATE VOLLEYBALL: Trinity, Catholic to meet for 4A championship on Wednesday

COMBINED REPORTS

BIRMINGHAM -- It’s Trinity vs. Catholic for the state championship -- again -- after the Knights and the Wildcats won in the 4A quarterfinals and semifinals on Tuesday afternoon at the Crossplex.

Trinity defeated Madison County 3-0 and Deshler 3-0 to advance to the 4A finals, while Catholic defeated West Morgan 3-0 and Orange Beach 3-0 to set up a rematch of last year’s 3A finals, won in four sets by Trinity.

The two teams have met four times earlier this season, with Catholic winning all four -- twice in the regular season, once in the area tournament finals and once in the South Super Regional finals.

The two will face off for the fifth time at Bill Harris Arena on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.

 Catholic 3, Orange Beach 0

Catholic got 14 kills, five blocks, four digs and four aces from Allyse Rudolph and eight kills and eight digs from Lennon McAnnally to defeat Orange Beach in the 4A semifinals on Tuesday.

Setter Maria Schwarz had 35 assists and six aces as the Knights (30-10) won in straight sets 25-13, 25-17 and 225-17. Mally Barranco added three aces, four assists and 10 digs.

Amelia Edgeworth had 15 kills to lead Orange Beach (33-11), which had reached the semifinals of the South Super Regional last week before losing to Trinity.

Catholic 3, West Morgan 0

The Knights swept West Morgan in the 4A quarterfinals on Tuesday afternoon, winning 25-20, 25-16 and 25-16 to advance to the semifinals later in the day.

Maria Schwarz had 28 assists, seven digs and two aces to lead the Knights, while Mally Barranco had four aces and 18 digs. Allyse Rudolph chipped in seven kills, four blocks, three aces and six digs and Harper Howell had five kills and four blocks. Kathryn Reardon had six kills, three blocks and two aces, while Lennon McAnnally had seven kills, 15 digs and three aces.

Trinity 3, Deshler 0

Senior Addison Cherry had 39 assists to help the Wildcats return to the finals for the third consecutive year with a 28-26, 25-10, 25-15 victory over Deshler (45-6). Emma Moody had 17 kills and four blocks, Reese Patterson had nine kills, Holland Williams added six kills and three blocks and Isabel Hill had 12 digs and three aces for the Wildcats (42-9).

Chloe Siegal had 10 kills, seven digs and 10 assists to lead Deshler.

Trinity 3, Madison County 0

Emma Moody had eight kills and six blocks to lead the Wildcats into the 4A quarterfinals with a sweep of Madison County (32-20), winning 25-16, 25-12 and 25-23 on Tuesday afternoon.

Holland Williams had eight kills and five blocks for Trinity (41-9), while Reese Patterson contributed 10 kills and four digs, Isabel Hill had 11 digs and Addison Cherry had 38 assists and six kills.

Arab 3, Montgomery Academy 1

Laney Kelley had 15 kills and Karli Walker added 13 as Arab (49-13) stunned Montgomery Academy in the 5A semifinals, defeating the Eagles 25-21, 25-23, 19-25 and 25-23 on Tuesday afternoon.

Since 2012, when the super regional format was adopted, Montgomery Academy has advanced to the state tournament in 2A, 3A, 4A and now 5A eight times and had reached the finals in every trip except 2014 and 2022.

Caroline McDaniel had 22 kills and 12 digs to lead Montgomery Academy (44-7). Elle McBride had 12 kills, Parker Shegon totaled 29 digs and setter Addi Vinson had 46 assists, 18 digs and a team-high four blocks.

Montgomery Academy 3, Lawrence County 1

Elle McBride had 19 kills and Caroline McDaniel added 14 as the Eagles defeated Lawrence County in the 5A quarterfinals 23-25, 25-21, 25-19 and 25-21 on Tuesday morning.

Addi Vinson added 20 digs, 42 assists and four aces, while Avery Arden Pemberton had 25 digs.

Ava Boyll had 17 kills, four blocks and 15 digs to lead Lawrence County (35-24).