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By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Publisher 

MONTGOMERY – Three local volleyball players recently participated in the annual AISA All-Star Volleyball showdown, bringing together the best players from the Alabama Independent School Association to celebrate their achievements from a special season.

With a Blue team and Red team battling against one another, three Morgan Academy players competed for the blue team.

Brooke Waters, Kylie Calame and Sarah Moore from Morgan Academy all earned a spot on the Blue Team after great seasons for the Senators.

They were joined by Brooke Massey and Maggie Taylor of Clarke Prep; Chesley Phillips and Katelyn Keef of Cornerstone Christian; Ellie Pugh, Henlee Garvin and Libby Bressler of Hooper Academy; and Jamya Powell and Mollie Ross of Macon-East Academy.

Ultimately, the Red Team ended up pulling off the straight-set victory by a score of 3-0 (25-17, 25-13, 25-15).

The Red Team featured Hope Kennedy and Kelsey McClure of Abbeville Christian; Chayenne Kohn and Jayln Springfield of Coosa Valley Academy; Ayden Kelley and Harlie Barrett of Edgewood Academy; Bethany Clayton, Bradford Harrell and Olivia Garris of Jackson Academy; Camryn Hess of Lowndes Academy; Mary Claire Floyd of South Choctaw Academy; and Charlie Lunsford of Trinity Christian School.

The first set of the All-Star match saw a tight battle throughout, all the way up to a 15-15 tie.

That, however, is when things started clicking for the Red squad. They put together a 10-2 run to close out the opening set for a 25-17 victory to take the lead.

Each set followed a similar path with the Blue Team taking an early lead, but the Red Team using a big run to create separation.

In the second set, the Blue squad took a 4-2 lead, but a 10-1 run followed from the Red Team to take a 12-5 advantage. They never relinquished the lead from there, pulling away for the 25-13 victory and 2-0 match lead.

In the third set, with the Blue Team needing a win to keep the match going, they took another early lead at 3-1, but the Red Team came back with a 5-1 run to take the 6-4 advantage.

From there, it was a tight battle up to 9-7 when the Red Team started to pull away, ultimately claiming a 25-15 set victory to close out the match.

Nonetheless, each player earning the right to represent their school in an All-Star setting was the highlight, capping off a special week at the state tournament and a special season for their respective schools.