Mountain Brook repeats as Blalock champion, turns eyes toward state tournament

The Mountain Brook Lady Spartans captured their second straight Margaret Blalock tournament championship, then focused on area, super regional and, hopefully, state tournament play as the defending Class 7A champs wound down the season in mid-October..

Mountain Brook won the 27th annual Blalock Memorial by beating Class 5A Arab 25-15, 25-22 in the final. 

This tournament donates part of the gate proceeds to the Breast Cancer Foundation of Alabama, and players and fans wear pink in observance of Breast Cancer Awareness month.

The 20-team field at Homewood featured most of the top teams in the area and across the state. The Lady Spartans opened with a 23-25, 25-19, 15-7 win over Arab, knocked off Bob Jones 25-11, 25-20, defeated Vestavia Hills 25-12, 25-6, and handled Huntsville 25-15, 21-25, 15-10 in the semifinals.

Mountain Brook improved to 49-5 after the tournament.

Sara Carr had 68 digs, 64 kills and 17 aces to lead the way. Sara Chandler Mitchell added 11 aces, 140 assists and 39 digs. Payton Selman had 41 kills and 38 digs and Caroline Davies added 43 kills, 14 digs and seven aces. Ellie Ritter chipped in 11 blocks and 13 kills. Defensive specialists Lacy Jeffcoat (57 digs) and Libby Grace Gann (51 digs, 11 aces) were also outstanding for coach Haven O’Quinn’s team.

The Lady Spartans were set to host the Class 7A, Area 6 tournament Oct. 19-20, which was after Village Living’s press date. Mountain Brook faced Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills squared off with Spain Park. The winners were to meet for the area title, and both the champion and runner-up advance to Super Regional play in Huntsville on Oct. 22-24.

The state championship is at Birmingham’s CrossPlex Oct. 28-29.