SPORTS LEDGER Established 2006 The PAGE 7 November 2025 E-Edition Read More Online at www.thesportsledger.com
Guntersville Wins 5A State Volleyball Title Guntersville High
School closed out the 2025 volleyball season on Wednesday, October 29, with the Wildcats’ 64th victory of the year and this year's State Title. Guntersville defeated Montgomery Catholic 25- 21, 35-23, 25-17 in the AHSAA Class 5A state finals at Bill Harris Arena. The 64 wins tied with the 2008 Wildcat Team. In 2011, Guntersville won the state title posting a 74-5 record that season. The state record for wins in a single season (79) was set by Huntsville in 2002. Guntersville Head Coach Melissa Paul Gardner, was proud of her team and said that all the demanding work this season helped the Wildcats reach and win the championship. “I watched for the last weeks, and they were playing together the best I had seen them play. We wanted to be at our best at the end," she said. Sophomore Italey May
Photo Courtesy of AHSAA
Guntersville defenders Shiloh Stanley (#11) and Mary George Vandergriff (#2) play defense against Montgomery Catholic.
It was the third state title that head Coach Gardner has been a part of. She won a crown at Hartselle as a player, coached a state championship team in Indiana, and has now led Guntersville to this year's state crown. Montgomery Catholic finished the season with a 31-14 overall record. Montgomery Catholic won back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023, reached the semifinals last season and the finals in 2025.
2025 CLASS 5A ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM MEMBERS The members of the Class 5A All-Tournament team include: Italey May, Guntersville (MVP); Mary George Vandergriff, Guntersville; Sydney Jarman, Guntersville; Caroline Canaday, Guntersville; Julie Roberts, Briarwood Christian; Kierstyn Green, Montgomery Catholic; and Joi McGuire, Montgomery Catholic.
had 16 kills to pace the Wildcats. She was also the MVP Class 5A state tournament. Senior setter Mary George Vandergriff had 37 assists, four service aces and 13 digs. Sydney Jarmon also had 11 kills and Shiloh Stanley had eight. Jarmon also had 14 digs, and Caroline Canady had 16. The championship was the sixth overall and the first for Guntersville since 2011.
Cherokee County Claims First Ever State Volleyball Championship Photo Courtesy of AHSAA Cherokee County middle hitter Jolie Alexander delivers a shot with Prattville Christian’s Anniston Robison preparing to defend.
The Cherokee County Warriors are the 2025 Class 4A State Volleyball Champions. The program defeated Prattville Christian in five sets 22-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-22, and 15-9 to win the school’s first volleyball championship on Thursday, October 30. “I’ve been chasing that Blue Map since I was a player in high school,” said Cherokee County Head Coach Tiffany Reiger said. “When I came back, I wanted to put us on the map, and, dadgum, we got a blue one.” Rieger came close to winning a state championship as a player at Cherokee County when the Warriors finished as the Class 4A runner-up in 1999. Now she has led the program to the state title as head coach. The Warriors (51-9) fought back from a 2-1 deficit by winning a tight fourth set and winning seven of the first eight points in the winner-take- all fifth set. “When we got in the fifth set, I knew at that point we were going to take it home,” Cherokee County senior Ellisan Givens said. “There was just no stopping us.” Givens led all players with 30 digs in the game. Tournament MVP Nevaeh Gaidurgis led Cherokee County with 22 kills and eight digs. Jolie Alexander had 15 kills and Ava Haywood
added 11 kills and 14 digs. Macy Lea dished out 44 assists. “When we play our game, we’re unstoppable,” Cherokee County’s Haywood said. “I think we proved that today.” Prattville Christian finished the season at 38-12 overall. “This group of girls, they’re winners,” Panthers coach Kaylon Cantrell said. “They may not have won today, but they’re winners.” “They made probably less errors than we did,” added Cantrell, referring to the Warriors. “They played really good.” Leah Cate Wilson led the Prattville Christian offense with 19 kills, and Maren Diefenderfer added 18 kills. Baylee Rogers finished with 45 assists and 21 digs, Morgan Fowler had 21 digs, and Anniston Robison added five kills and 15 digs. Olivia Rossi had nine kills. AHSAA CLASS 4A ALL-TOURAMENT TEAM The members of the Class 4A All-tournament include: Nevaeh Gaidurgis, Cherokee County (MVP); Ava Haygood, Cherokee County; Jolie Alexander, Cherokee County; Ellisan Givans, Cherokee County; Leah Cate Wilson, Prattville Christian; Maren Diefenderfer, Prattville Christian; Baylee Rogers, Prattville Christian.
Photo Courtesy of AHSAA
Guntersville sophomore Italey May (18) was named the Class 5A Tournament MVP.
2025 Collinsville Cheerleaders Photo by Brandon K. Pierce, The Sports Ledger
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