Spanish Fort, Orange Beach Win South Super Regional Volleyball Titles; 12 Area Teams Head to State

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Spanish Fort and Orange Beach are headed to Birmingham as South Super Regional volleyball champions. The Toros swept Saraland 3-0 to win the Class 5A title, and the Makos beat Satsuma 3-1 for the Class 4A crown on Friday, Oct. 23, at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex in Montgomery.

The two titles capped three days of regional play that went well for schools from Mobile and Baldwin counties. Twelve area teams earned spots in the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) state volleyball tournament, set for Oct. 27-29 in Birmingham.

The top four teams from each South and North Super Regional bracket advance to state. Spanish Fort and Orange Beach go in as the South’s No. 1 seeds in their classes. Saraland and Satsuma, the runners-up, are the No. 2 seeds.

Spanish Fort sweeps through Montgomery

Few teams in the state have looked as sharp this fall as Spanish Fort. The Toros were 49-3 going into the postseason and were viewed as a strong favorite in Class 5A, their first year in the classification after winning the previous two Class 6A state championships.

The Toros played that way in Montgomery. They did not lose a set at the super regional. Spanish Fort swept Chelsea 3-0 in Thursday’s first round, then beat Pike Road 3-0 in the semifinals to set up an all-local final. Before that, the Toros reached Montgomery with a 3-0 sub-regional win over Murphy on Monday, Oct. 19.

Saraland’s path to the title match was just as clean. The Spartans, 24-5 entering the postseason, beat Gulf Shores 3-1 in a sub-regional, then swept Northridge and Gardendale on Thursday without dropping a set. Spanish Fort ended that streak in the final, winning in three straight sets to claim the 5A championship.

Pike Road beat Gardendale 3-0 in the Class 5A third-place match. As the bracket’s third- and fourth-place finishers, both also advance to state. Saraland’s trip to Birmingham comes one year after the Spartans reached the state semifinals in Class 6A.

Orange Beach outlasts Satsuma for the 4A crown

The Class 4A final was also an all-local matchup. Orange Beach, 34-12 entering the postseason, beat Satsuma 3-1 to win the South title.

Both teams had to win twice on Friday, with semifinals in the morning and the title match in the afternoon. Orange Beach swept Elmore County 3-0 in Thursday’s first round, and Satsuma outlasted Beauregard 3-2. In Friday’s semifinals, the Makos got past Northside and Satsuma beat Headland, setting up the final between the two Gulf Coast schools. Northside then beat Headland 3-1 in the third-place match, and both of those teams also advance to Birmingham.

Orange Beach’s run started at home. The Makos beat Citronelle 3-0 in a sub-regional match on Monday, Oct. 19, while Satsuma swept Williamson 3-0 in another all-Mobile County sub-regional. The Makos are no strangers to the state tournament. They earned a Class 4A berth last season and advanced to the semifinals.

Twelve area teams in the state field

The Mobile County-Baldwin County area will send 12 teams to Birmingham across the public and private school classifications:

• Class 6A: Fairhope and Daphne
• Class 5A: Spanish Fort and Saraland
• Class 4A: Orange Beach and Satsuma
• Private Class A: Bayside Academy and Mobile Christian
• Private Class AA: McGill-Toolen, St. Paul’s, Faith Academy and UMS-Wright

Four more area teams won super regional titles earlier in the week. On Thursday, Oct. 22, Fairhope beat Baldwin County rival Daphne 3-2 for the Class 6A championship, and McGill-Toolen swept St. Paul’s 3-0 for the Private Class AA crown. Faith Academy beat UMS-Wright 3-1 in the Private Class AA third-place match, which means all four area teams in that bracket advanced. In Private Class A, Bayside Academy beat Mobile Christian 3-0 for third place after Montgomery Academy swept Prattville Christian 3-0 in the title match.

Not every local team survived the regional round. Davidson and Alma Bryant fell to Daphne and Fairhope in the Class 6A first round, and Chickasaw’s season ended in a 3-2 first-round loss to Isabella in Class 2A.

Defending champions in new classifications

Three of the area schools headed to Birmingham won state titles last season: McGill-Toolen, Spanish Fort and Mobile Christian. None of them can defend a title in the same classification this year.

The AHSAA reclassified its member schools this year and, for the first time, separated public and private schools when deciding state championships. That moved several of the area’s strongest programs into new brackets:

• McGill-Toolen won the Class 7A title each of the previous four seasons and now plays in Private Class AA. The Yellow Jackets were 37-2 entering the postseason and are seeking a fifth straight state championship.
• Spanish Fort won the previous two Class 6A championships and now competes in Class 5A.
• Mobile Christian won the previous two Class 3A state titles and now plays in Private Class A.

Bayside Academy also brings a rich history to Birmingham. The Admirals hold the national and state records for most consecutive state championships, with 21, and for most overall state championships, with 31. Bayside was 26-8 entering the postseason.

The public-private split has been a topic of debate among local coaches. Before the season, several said they disagreed with the change and planned to keep scheduling “crossover” matches against schools from the other side during the regular season. Many of the area’s top programs did just that, and coaches have said they believe that tougher schedule left their teams better prepared for October.

How the volleyball postseason works

The AHSAA volleyball postseason runs in stages. Area tournaments on local campuses opened play the week of Oct. 12, with the top two teams in each area moving on. In the lower public school classifications, teams then played sub-regional matches on the home court of the higher seed. Area teams in Class 6A and in the private school classifications went directly to the regional round.

Super regional play in Montgomery began Wednesday, Oct. 21, with Class 6A and the private school brackets, and Class 2A, 4A and 5A started Thursday. The four teams that finish on top in each bracket at the South and North Super Regionals advance, which creates an eight-team state field in each classification.

Seeding is based on where teams finish at their super regional, so winning a regional title carries real value. Spanish Fort and Orange Beach enter as No. 1 seeds from the South, and Saraland and Satsuma as No. 2 seeds.

What’s next: State tournament in Birmingham

The AHSAA state volleyball tournament runs Oct. 27-29 in Birmingham. In recent seasons, early-round state matches have been played at the Birmingham CrossPlex, with championship matches at Bill Harris Arena. Fans planning to attend should check the AHSAA’s website for brackets, match times and ticket information as the tournament nears.

Last season’s state tournament included a large group of local teams. St. Paul’s and Bayside Academy joined McGill-Toolen in Class 7A, Saraland reached state with Spanish Fort in Class 6A, UMS-Wright and Faith Academy played in Class 5A, and Orange Beach and St. Michael competed in Class 4A. Saraland, UMS-Wright and Orange Beach all reached the semifinals along with the three local champions.

With a dozen teams and the No. 1 seeds in two public school classifications, the Mobile-Baldwin area has a chance to bring home several more state titles this fall. For Spanish Fort and McGill-Toolen in particular, the week in Birmingham is a chance to extend championship runs in new classifications. For Orange Beach, it is a chance to build on last season’s semifinal trip.