DOTHAN, Ala. — Northside Methodist put together one of the best weeks of any team in the region, going 6-1 and capturing the Heather Bryan Tournament championship as South Alabama volleyball Week 7 wrapped up with McGill-Toolen still unbeaten in its own classification, Clarke Prep running the table at 8-0 and Gulf Shores knocking off two ranked opponents on its way to the Battle of Old Shell Road title.
The Knights, ranked No. 7 in Single-A Private, beat Class 2A No. 4 Ariton twice during the week — once in pool play and again in the championship match — to take the tournament crown. Their only loss came in pool play against Class 1A No. 3 Kinston. Here is a full look at the top teams and the top individual performances from around the region for Week 7 of the 2026 season.
South Alabama volleyball Week 7 at a glance
- Northside Methodist went 6-1 and won the Heather Bryan Tournament, beating Ariton 2-1 in the championship.
- McGill-Toolen, No. 1 in Double-A Private, went 5-0 and improved to 36-2.
- Spanish Fort, No. 1 in Class 5A, added two more regular-season wins and is now 47-3.
- Clarke Prep, No. 5 in the AISA, posted the week’s best record at 8-0, including five tournament wins.
- Gulf Shores won the Battle of Old Shell Road, beating Faith Academy in the semifinals and Fairhope in the championship.
- Faith Academy’s Kyleigh Grosz surpassed 1,000 career digs, and Providence Christian’s Laura Faulk surpassed 1,000 career assists.
Northside Methodist takes the Heather Bryan Tournament
Single-A Private No. 7 Northside Methodist (20-11) | Week 7: 6-1
Northside Methodist opened the week with a pair of regular-season sweeps, beating Emmanuel Christian 3-0 and Slocomb 3-0. The Knights then carried that momentum into the Heather Bryan Tournament, where they beat Ariton 2-0, Straughn 2-1 and Andalusia 2-0 before meeting Ariton again in the championship and winning 2-1.
The lone blemish came against Kinston, which beat the Knights 2-1 in pool play. Even with that loss, the week pushed Northside Methodist’s record to 20-11. The Knights were 14-10 entering Week 6, when they went 2-0, so they have now won eight of their last nine matches.
Wins: Emmanuel Christian 3-0 and Slocomb 3-0 (regular season); Ariton 2-0, Straughn 2-1, Andalusia 2-0 and Ariton 2-1 in the championship (Heather Bryan Tournament)
Loss: Kinston 2-1 (Heather Bryan Tournament pool play)
Top players
- Shannon Alvord: 57 kills, 62 digs, 12 aces
- Madison Foy: 82 assists, 29 digs, 5 aces
- Makenzie Foy: 6 assists, 45 digs
- Jenna Forrester: 49 kills, 30 blocks, 19 digs, 17 aces
Forrester’s line stood out for its range: she was among the team leaders in kills, blocks and aces in the same week. Alvord, who had a career-best 22 kills in one match during Week 6, followed up with 57 kills and 62 digs, giving the Knights a steady presence at the net and in the back row.
Class 6A: Fairhope reaches the Battle of Old Shell Road final
No. 6 Fairhope (28-10) | Week 7: 6-1
Fairhope, which moved up one spot from No. 7 a week ago, won its two regular-season matches against Mary Montgomery and Robertsdale and then won four matches at the Battle of Old Shell Road, beating Faith Academy, Glenwood, Davidson and UMS-Wright. The Pirates’ run ended in the championship match, where Gulf Shores beat them.
Wins: Mary Montgomery and Robertsdale (regular season); Faith Academy, Glenwood, Davidson and UMS-Wright (Battle of Old Shell Road)
Loss: Gulf Shores (Battle of Old Shell Road championship)
Top players
- Maddie Miller: 108 assists, 21 kills, 28 digs, 9 aces
- Kenly Nelson: 56 kills, 9 blocks
- Liz Niehuss: 36 kills, 10 blocks
- Addy Busby: 10 aces, 42 digs, 14 assists
Miller, Fairhope’s setter, topped 100 assists for the week while also contributing in nearly every other statistical category. Nelson and Niehuss combined for 92 kills and 19 blocks.
Class 5A: Spanish Fort and Saraland stay perfect for the week
No. 1 Spanish Fort (47-3) | Week 7: 2-0
The top-ranked Toros had a lighter schedule after a busy Week 6 that included a trip to Jasper’s Drummond Invitational. Spanish Fort beat Daphne and Theodore in regular-season play to move to 47-3.
- Cailyn Boykin: 58 assists, 10 aces, 3 kills, 4 digs
- Delaney Duncan: 19 kills, 14 digs, 2 blocks
- Natalie Maxwell: 15 kills, 6 aces, 3 digs, 2 blocks
No. 6 Saraland (24-4) | Week 7: 2-0
Saraland also swept its week, beating Murphy and Baldwin County in regular-season matches to improve to 24-4.
- Taniyah Smith: 7 aces, 11 digs, 40 assists
- Jocelyn Black: 7 aces, 21 digs
- Myah Skanes: 22 kills, .409 hitting percentage
Skanes’ .409 hitting percentage reflects highly efficient attacking. Hitting percentage is calculated by subtracting a player’s attack errors from her kills and dividing by total attack attempts, so anything above .300 is generally considered excellent at the high school level.
Class 2A: Ariton finishes runner-up
No. 4 Ariton (24-8) | Week 7: 4-2
Ariton beat Geneva County in regular-season play and picked up tournament wins over Kinston, Straughn and Opp before falling to Northside Methodist in the Heather Bryan Tournament. The Purple Cats’ other loss came in the regular season against Providence Christian.
Wins: Geneva County (regular season); Kinston, Straughn and Opp (tournament)
Losses: Providence Christian (regular season); Northside Methodist (tournament)
- Anna Claire Free: 4 aces, 58 kills, 10 blocks, 72 digs
- Madolyn Hudson: 4 aces, 11 kills, 178 assists, 5 blocks, 37 digs
Hudson’s 178 assists were the most reported by any player in the region this week.
Double-A Private: McGill-Toolen keeps rolling
No. 1 McGill-Toolen (36-2) | Week 7: 5-0
McGill-Toolen followed its third-place finish at Florida’s Sunshine Invitational in Week 6 with a clean week. The Dirty Dozen swept UMS-Wright 3-0 and Hoover 3-0 in the regular season, then won all three of their matches at the Margaret Blalock Tournament, beating Bob Jones 2-0, Jasper 2-0 and Montgomery Academy 2-0.
McGill-Toolen left the tournament after its pool-play match against Montgomery Academy to return to Mobile for school homecoming activities, meaning the Dirty Dozen did not play beyond pool play at the event.
Wins: UMS-Wright 3-0 and Hoover 3-0 (regular season); Bob Jones 2-0, Jasper 2-0 and Montgomery Academy 2-0 (Margaret Blalock Tournament)
- Alice Wood: 17 kills, 3 aces, 112 assists, 22 digs, 5 blocks
- Kya Shelton: 42 kills, 3 aces, 35 digs, 2 blocks
- Emmy Beech: 29 kills, 5 digs, 7 blocks
- Marley Foster: 26 kills, 15 blocks
No. 3 Faith Academy (36-5) | Week 7: 4-2
Faith Academy beat St. Paul’s 3-0 and UMS-Wright 3-1 in regular-season play, then beat Glenwood 2-1 and St. Michael 2-0 at the Battle of Old Shell Road. The Rams lost to Fairhope 2-1 at the tournament and were eliminated by Gulf Shores in the semifinals.
Wins: St. Paul’s 3-0 and UMS-Wright 3-1 (regular season); Glenwood 2-1 and St. Michael 2-0 (Battle of Old Shell Road)
Losses: Fairhope 2-1 and Gulf Shores (semifinal) (Battle of Old Shell Road)
- Kyleigh Grosz: 100 digs, 15 assists, 11 aces — surpassed 1,000 career digs
- Kiersten Parker-Nelson: 70 digs, 33 kills, 7 aces, 5 blocks
- Mikadyn Cauley: 45 kills, 10 blocks, 3 aces
Grosz posted 100 digs for the second straight week, a run that carried her past the 1,000-dig mark for her career — a milestone that typically requires several seasons of consistent work as a defensive specialist or libero.
Single-A Private: Montgomery Academy climbs to No. 2
No. 2 Montgomery Academy (25-8) | Week 7: 3-3
Montgomery Academy moved up from No. 3 despite an even week. The Eagles swept Prattville Christian 3-0 and Alabama Christian 3-0 in regular-season play and beat Jasper 2-0 at the Margaret Blalock Tournament, but lost tournament matches to Bob Jones (2-1), McGill-Toolen (2-0) and Hazel Green (2-1).
- Rehmat Sidhu: 5 kills, 3 blocks, 10 aces, 60 digs, 136 assists
- Morgan Springer: 52 kills, 7 blocks, 10 aces, 18 digs
- Lizzie Campbell: 2 kills, 96 digs, 5 aces, 7 assists
No. 4 Providence Christian (34-7) | Week 7: 3-0
Providence Christian went unbeaten in three regular-season matches, beating Ariton, G.W. Long and Dothan. The wins over Ariton and G.W. Long came against two of the Wiregrass area’s more accomplished programs; G.W. Long entered the week ranked No. 3 in Class 2A after an 8-0 Week 6.
- Laura Faulk: 82 assists, 3 aces — surpassed 1,000 career assists
No. 5 Prattville Christian (12-21) | Week 7: 1-1
Prattville Christian beat Trinity and lost to Montgomery Academy in regular-season play.
- Maren Diefenderfer: 25 kills, 3 blocks, 26 digs
- Olivia Rossi: 13 kills, 2 aces, 23 digs
- Anniston Robison: 10 kills, 28 assists, 20 digs
No. 6 St. Luke’s (10-23) | Week 7: 2-4
St. Luke’s beat Bayshore 3-0 in the regular season and Theodore 2-0 at the Battle of Old Shell Road. St. Luke’s lost to Bayside 3-0 in regular-season play and to UMS-Wright (2-1), Gulf Shores (2-1) and Daphne (2-0) at the tournament.
- Emma Kate Frazier: 80 digs, 2.5 passer rating, 4 aces
- Riley Reynolds: 23 kills, 34 digs, 17 aces
- Lauren Watson: 66 assists, 14 digs, 5 aces
Passer rating measures the quality of a player’s serve-receive passes, usually on a 0-to-3 scale, so Frazier’s 2.5 indicates she consistently delivered passes that gave her setter good options.
AISA: Clarke Prep perfect, Macon East unbeaten
No. 5 Clarke Prep (20-9) | Week 7: 8-0
No team in the region won more matches this week than Clarke Prep. The Grove Hill school beat South Choctaw, Jackson Academy and Monroe Academy in regular-season play, then ran through a tournament field that included Evangel, Banks, Restoration, Morgan Academy and Heritage Academy without a loss.
- Neely Hebert (all-tournament): 16 aces, 42 assists, 18 digs
- Addie Hicks (all-tournament): 6 aces, 15 kills, 12 digs, 5 blocks
No. 3 Macon East (18-6) | Week 7: 2-0
Macon East beat Edgewood and Abbeville Christian in regular-season play. Statistics reported for the team’s top players came from the Abbeville Christian match.
- Ajah Tuggle: 13 kills, 11 blocks, 3 aces, 4 digs
- Kelsey Smith: 16 assists
- Addie Longcrier: 15 digs
- Megan Hardy: 9 digs
By the numbers
- 8-0 — Clarke Prep’s Week 7 record, the best in the region.
- 47-3 — Spanish Fort’s overall record, the most wins of any team in this week’s rankings.
- 178 — assists by Ariton’s Madolyn Hudson, the week’s top total.
- 136 — assists by Montgomery Academy’s Rehmat Sidhu, who also had 60 digs and 10 aces.
- 1,000 — the career milestone reached by both Faith Academy’s Kyleigh Grosz (digs) and Providence Christian’s Laura Faulk (assists).
- 30 — blocks by Northside Methodist’s Jenna Forrester, the most reported by any player this week.
What’s next
With October underway, teams across the region are entering the stretch of the season that leads into area tournament play, where seeding and qualification for the postseason are decided. Records and rankings in the coming weeks will help shape those brackets, and several of this week’s top teams — including McGill-Toolen, Spanish Fort and Faith Academy — will be among the programs to watch.
For last week’s results, see our South Alabama volleyball Week 6 roundup.
