Photo by Erin Nelson.
Mountain Brook head coach Mattie Gardner reacts following a play by the Spartans in the Class 6A state championship match against St. Paul’s at Bill Harris Arena at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Oct. 27. The Spartans defeated St. Paul’s to win their third consecutive state title.
The Mountain Brook High School volleyball team’s success in the 2021 season was followed by an accolade for its young coach.
After leading the Spartans to the Class 6A state championship in her first year as the head coach, Mattie Gardner was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association Thirty Under 30 list, an award recognizing the top young coaches in the game.
“I was really surprised, just because it’s a national award,” Gardner said. “I wasn’t expecting that at all and to be recognized on that level, it’s very humbling and very surprising.”
Gardner has been able to continue the extraordinary success of the Mountain Brook program in recent years. The Spartans have won six titles in the last eight years, winning their third straight last fall. Gardner was an assistant to Vickie Nichols during the first two and took over as head coach before last season. Mountain Brook won three straight from 2014-16 under Haven O’Quinn.
“Mountain Brook volleyball has been a noteworthy program before me,” she said. “I’m just happy that I’m able to continue that and even broaden that to where we are able to be recognized nationwide.”
The Spartans finished 43-12 last season, sweeping St. Paul’s in three sets in the championship match to claim the title. Senior Greer Golden was named MVP of the state tournament, while fellow senior Lucy Redden and sophomore Hannah Parant were also named to the all-tournament team. Libero Alexandra Carlson and outside hitter Hannah Hitson, both seniors, had standout years as well. All five were named to the Starnes Media All-South Metro Volleyball Team.
“I’m really proud of what my girls and my staff were able to accomplish,” Gardner said. “We had four seniors that I knew were going to play very important roles this season, so it was very important to get them on board and involved.”
Gardner admitted she learned plenty in her first year as a head coach. She had to cast a vision for the entire program, from varsity all the way down to the younger age groups. She also learned the responsibility that comes with being the one to make all the decisions.
“I had to spend a long time this summer figuring out what I wanted [our culture] to be for our entire program, our values and expectations for building that foundation,” she said.
Gardner and the rest of her coaching staff took a few weeks to soak in the championship and the value of it, but she is now looking ahead to the 2022 campaign. After having just 11 varsity players last fall, she expects to carry a larger roster next season.
“We’ve got some young girls that really want it,” she said.
Tryouts in April will be far more than a formality, and Gardner likes it that way. The team will look a little different in the upcoming season, and she is eager to see how it shakes out.
“I think we definitely have the talent to repeat, we’ll just have a different style because we’ll have new girls. I’m excited for that,” she said.
