Local teams ready for annual Mayor's Cup volleyball tourney
Sarah Dubberley and the Trinity Wildcats will be one of the competitors in this weekend’s Mayor’s Cup tournament at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
The 2021 Mayor’s Cup will be held Friday and Saturday at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl, featuring some of the top volleyball programs in the state.
“There’s going to be some high-powered teams coming,” Montgomery Academy coach Julie Gordon said. “It’s going to be some good competition.”
Interesting enough, one of the biggest challenges will be faced by the host team. Montgomery Academy, the three-time defending state champion, returns just one starter and is in pool-play competition with 6A quarterfinalists St. Paul’s Episcopal and John Carroll, 6A regional participant Wetumpka and 7A regional participant Mary Montgomery.
The top two teams advance to Gold Bracket play on Saturday for the tournament title, while the third-place and fourth-place teams will battle for the Silver Bracket title. The fifth-place team will be eliminated from bracket competition.
One of the most interesting pools has 2020 3A champion Trinity and 3A semifinalists Houston Academy and Prattville Christian, along with two other teams that could challenge for a championship: 4A Alabama Christian and 3A St. Luke’s, which advanced to the regionals last year.
Other 2020 state tournament participants include Prattville in 7A, LAMP in 4A and Bayside Academy and Providence Christian, a pair of perennial powers that compete this season in 5A under the Competitive Balance Factor.
In fact, Alabama Christian and Catholic are the only two teams among the 20 participants that didn’t earn a postseason berth last season and Catholic is among the favorites for the 3A title this season.
“Trinity and Catholic are loaded,” Gordon said. “They’re going to continue to get better. Volleyball has taken another step toward higher competition.”
Montgomery Academy, meanwhile, will fly under the radar throughout the first half of the season as a youthful and inexperienced squad tries to handle a rugged schedule.
“I didn’t dummy-down our schedule at all,” Gordon said. “We’re playing in a Spain Park tournament and a Homewood tournament. We’re playing for October. We have moments of brilliance. We have three ninth-graders playing and they don’t play like ninth graders. It’s going to take a little while. We just have to string together more moments of brilliance. I’ve got faith. They’re not going to quit and me and I’m not going to quit on them.
The 20 teams will compete on Friday and Saturday in pool play, with 16 teams advancing to bracket play on Saturday at approximately 3 p.m. in a pair of eight-team brackets.
The finals will be held at approximately 5:30 p.m.
MAYOR’S CUP SCHEDULE (Held Friday and Saturday at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex)
FRIDAY
POOL PLAY
Montgomery Academy vs. Wetumpka, 4 p.m.
Trinity vs. Prattville Christian, 4 p.m.
Pelham vs. G.W. Carver, 4 p.m.
Bayside Academy vs. Brew Tech, 4 p.m.
Mary Montgomery vs. Montgomery Academy, 5 p.m.
Houston Academy vs. Trinity, 5 p.m.
Catholic vs. Pelham, 5 p.m.
Providence Christian vs. St. James, 5 p.m.
St. Paul’s Episcopal vs. John Carroll, 6 p.m.
St. Luke’s vs. Houston Academy, 6 p.m.
LAMP vs. Prattville, 6 p.m.
Bayside Academy vs. Providence Christian, 6 p.m.
SATURDAY
POOL PLAY
Wetumpka vs. Mary Montgomery, 8 a.m.
Prattville Christian vs. Alabama Christian, 8 a.m.
G.W. Carver vs. LAMP, 8 a.m.
Elmore County vs. Bayside Academy, 8 a.m.
St. Paul’s Episcopal vs. Mary Montgomery, 9 a.m.
Alabama Christian vs. Houston Academy, 9 a.m.
Pelham vs. Prattville, 9 a.m.
Brew Tech vs. Providence Christian, 9 a.m.
Montgomery Academy vs. John Carroll, 10 a.m.
Trinity vs. St. Luke’s 10 a.m.
Catholic vs. LAMP, 10 a.m.
St. James vs. Bayside Academy, 10 a.m.
Montgomery Academy vs. St. Paul’s Episcipal, 11 a.m.
Prattville Christian vs. St. Luke’s, 11 a.m.
Prattville vs. G.W. Carver, 11 a.m.
Brew Tech vs. Elmore County, 11 a.m.
Wetumpka vs. St. Paul’s Episcopal, noon
Alabama Christian vs. Trinity, noon
LAMP vs. Pelham, noon
Providence Christian vs. Elmore County, noon
Mary Montgomery vs. John Carroll, 1 p.m.
St. Luke’s vs. Alabama Christian, 1 p.m.
Prattville vs. Catholic, 1 p.m.
St. James vs. Brew Tech, 1 p.m.
John Carroll vs. Wetumpka, 2 p.m.
Houston Academy vs. Prattville Christian, 2 p.m.
Catholic vs. G.W. Carver, 2 p.m.
Elmore County vs. St. James, 2 p.m.
BRACKET PLAY
SILVER BRACKET
Quarterfinals, 3 p.m.
Semifinals, 4:15 p.m.
Third place finals, 5:30 p.m.
GOLD BRACKET
Quarterfinals, 3 p.m.
Semifinals, 4:15 p.m.
Championship finals, 5:30 p.m.