Spartans dispatch Huntsville, advance to state

HUNTSVILLE — Vickie Nichols called timeout in the second set of Friday’s Class 7A North Super Regional match against Huntsville, her team trailing by three points in the Von Braun Center.

A group of Mountain Brook High School jerseys huddled to listen to its first-year head coach. Then, the Spartans proceeded to win five of the next seven points, even the score and clinch the set victory, 28-26, on Sarah Cat Cooper’s cross-court kill.

“It was a mental win right there,” Nichols said. “We needed it because we struggled finishing all season, finishing when we’re ahead. That was huge for us to pull it back and then push ahead and finish the game.”

The comeback proved the turning point in Mountain Brook’s 3-1 (25-17, 28-26, 20-25, 25-22) victory over Huntsville in the super regional's opening round, which secured its spot at next week’s state tournament.

“All season we’ve heard what we can’t do,” Nichols said. “I’m just really proud that they showed that, ‘Yes we can, and yes we’re going back, and yes we’re going to contend for the state championship.’”

Mountain Brook has won the past three state titles, but it entered the season under the radar. Nine of the Spartans’ 12 varsity players are sophomores, and one is a freshman.

But it was hard to tell on Friday, as the team disguised it youthfulness on the season’s biggest stage.

Mountain Brook won its opening set convincingly, 25-17, and then made its momentum-shifting rally in the second. Cooper’s decisive shot capped a gritty run that featured multiple kills from Ellie Dayhuff and Grace Carr.

All three are sophomores.

“This team is just really special since it’s so young,” said Ellen Dulin, a junior, “and I couldn’t be more proud of my team.”

Huntsville used a 15-5 run to take the third set, 25-20, and force a fourth. Mountain Brook traded points early with Huntsville before the Spartans pulled away. 

Libby Grace Gann provided Carr with an ideal set that she powered down the middle for the final point of the match. A few Spartans threw their hands in the air in celebration, while others left the ground completely.

All are climbing toward their peak.

“I think that this state tournament is going to be the best we’ve ever played,” Dulin said.

Although Mountain Brook already has clinched its spot at the state tournament, which begins Wednesday at the Birmingham CrossPlex, it will return to action against Hoover on Saturday at 10 a.m. in the region semifinal. The match will help determine state seeding.