McGill-Toolen held its own against some of Florida’s best, G.W. Long swept its way to a tournament title and Spanish Fort’s coach reached a milestone few in any sport ever approach. Here is a look at the top South Alabama high school volleyball teams and players from Week 6 of the 2026 season.
Week 6 headlines
- McGill-Toolen finished third at the 16-team Sunshine Invitational in Oviedo, Florida, and beat Class 5A No. 1 Spanish Fort.
- G.W. Long went 8-0 and won the Battle of the Link tournament.
- Spanish Fort coach Gretchen Boykin surpassed 1,200 career high school wins.
- G.W. Long coach Craig Long passed 350 career wins in his 14th season.
- Spanish Fort’s Cailyn Boykin topped 1,000 career digs.
McGill-Toolen: Third among Florida’s best
Double-A Private No. 1 McGill-Toolen (31-2) | Week 6: 5-1
The Dirty Dozen traveled to Oviedo (Fla.) High School for the Sunshine Invitational, a 16-team field that featured more than 25 college-committed players. McGill-Toolen was one of only three teams from outside Florida in the tournament.
McGill-Toolen swept its three pool-play matches, then fell to Plant (Fla.) in the Gold Bracket semifinal before beating Deland (Fla.) in the third-place match. Before the trip, the Dirty Dozen also knocked off Class 5A No. 1 Spanish Fort 3-1 in regular-season play.
Wins: Spanish Fort 3-1 (regular season); Winter Park (Fla.) 2-1, Westminster Christian (Fla.) 2-0, Oviedo (Fla.) 2-0 and Deland 2-1 in the third-place match (Sunshine Invitational)
Loss: Plant 2-0 (Sunshine Invitational semifinal)
Top players:
- Alice Wood (all-tournament): 10 kills, 4 aces, 157 assists, 45 digs, 7 blocks
- Makayla Johnson: 26 kills, 16 assists, 48 digs, 12 blocks
- Caitlin Miller: 32 kills, 4 aces, 14 digs, 16 blocks
- Kya Shelton: 45 kills, 8 aces, 45 digs, 5 blocks
- Marley Foster: 61 kills, 15 blocks
G.W. Long: Perfect week, tournament title
Class 2A No. 3 G.W. Long (25-2) | Week 6: 8-0
G.W. Long did not drop a match all week, beating Cottonwood and Houston County in regular-season play before running through the Battle of the Link field and beating Headland in the championship.
Wins: Cottonwood and Houston County (regular season); Pleasant Home, Wicksburg, Headland, Geneva, Ariton and Headland in the championship (Battle of the Link)
Top players:
- Sawyer Hughes: 225 assists, 16 digs, 7 aces, 11 blocks, 20 kills
- Kaylie Foster: 103 kills, 7 blocks, 14 aces, 25 digs
Milestone: Coach Craig Long passed 350 career wins and is now 355-111 in his 14th season.
Class 6A
No. 7 Fairhope (22-9) | Week 6: 1-1
Win: Daphne (regular season). Loss: Bayside (regular season)
- Maddie Miller: 48 assists, 13 digs, 4 kills
- Kenly Nelson: 19 kills
- Addy Busby: 18 digs, 3 assists
- Liz Niehuss: 17 kills, 7 blocks
Class 5A
No. 1 Spanish Fort (45-3) | Week 6: 4-2
Spanish Fort beat Gulf Shores in regular-season play, then went 3-1 at Jasper’s Drummond Invitational, beating Bob Jones, Southside-Rainbow City and Oxford. The Toros’ losses came against McGill-Toolen and host Jasper.
- Cailyn Boykin: 160 assists, 32 digs, 12 kills, 5 aces; surpassed 1,000 career digs
- Natalie Maxwell: 44 kills, 9 blocks, 16 digs, 3 assists
- London Tucker: 41 kills, 8 aces, 25 digs, 5 blocks
- Cayden Dorger: 38 kills, 53 digs, 8 blocks, 4 aces
- Delaney Duncan: 55 digs, 11 blocks, 22 kills, 5 aces
Milestone: Coach Gretchen Boykin surpassed 1,200 career high school wins and now holds a 1,202-211 career record, a total that places her among the winningest high school volleyball coaches anywhere.
Double-A Private
No. 3 Faith Academy (32-3) | Week 6: 6-1
Wins: Baldwin County 3-0 and Baker 3-0 (regular season); Ramsay 2-0, Oak Mountain 2-1, Providence Christian 2-1 and St. Paul’s 2-0 (Briarwood’s Barry Walker Invitational)
Loss: Bayside 2-0 (Barry Walker Invitational semifinal)
- Kyleigh Grosz: 100 digs, 14 aces, 9 assists
- Kiersten Parker-Nelson: 65 digs, 43 kills, 7 aces, 2 blocks
- Mikadyn Cauley: 61 kills, 17 digs, 4 aces
Single-A Private
No. 2 Mobile Christian (12-8) | Week 6: 3-3
Wins: Cottage Hill 3-0 (regular season); Madison Academy 2-1 and John Carroll 2-0 (Barry Walker Invitational)
Losses: Bayside 3-1 (regular season); Montgomery Academy 2-0 and Bayside 2-1 (Barry Walker Invitational)
- Hadley Kelly: 84 kills, 39 digs, 8 blocks, 12 aces, 2.13 passer rating
- Emmy Moody: 9 kills, 33 digs, 4 blocks, 10 aces, 111 assists
No. 3 Montgomery Academy (22-5) | Week 6: 7-1
Wins: Saint James 3-0, Trinity 3-0 and St. Luke’s 3-0 (regular season); John Carroll 2-0, Madison County 2-0, Mobile Christian 2-0 and St. John Paul II 2-0 (Barry Walker Invitational)
Loss: Briarwood 2-0 (Barry Walker Invitational)
- Morgan Springer: 53 kills, 7 blocks, 19 digs, 14 aces
- Bennett Britt: 80 kills, 7 blocks, 56 digs, 4 aces
- Lizzie Campbell: 102 digs, 11 aces, 3 assists
No. 7 Northside Methodist (14-10) | Week 6: 2-0
Wins: Providence Christian 3-1 and Houston Academy 3-0 (regular season)
- Shannon Alvord: 28 kills (including a career-best 22 in one match), 24 digs, 5 aces
- Madison Foy: 28 assists, 11 digs, 4 aces
- Reagan Horne: 20 kills, 11 digs
- Makenzie Foy: 42 digs, 7 assists
Understanding the stats
For fans newer to volleyball: a kill is an attack that ends a rally with a point; an assist is a set that leads directly to a kill, which is why setters rack up large totals; a dig is a successful pass of an opponent’s attack; a block stops an attack at the net; and an ace is a serve that scores directly. A passer rating, typically on a 0-3 scale, measures how well a player passes serves to the setter.
Looking ahead
With the regular season entering its final weeks, teams are jockeying for position ahead of area tournaments and the postseason. Bayside, which beat Fairhope, Faith Academy and Mobile Christian during the week, continues to be one of the toughest opponents on the schedule for local private schools. Coaches who want their teams and players considered for weekly highlights are encouraged to report results and stats promptly.