McGill-Toolen Catholic High School, Montgomery Catholic repeat as state champs

By The Catholic Week
Congratulations to both McGill-Toolen Catholic High School and Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School as their volleyball programs both won state championships for a second consecutive season.
The McGill-Toolen Dirty Dozen captured its title by beating Bob Jones 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-19) on Nov. 2 in the Class 7A championship game at Bill Harris Arena in Birmingham. The Dirty Dozen won their 23rd overall state title and fourth state championship in the last seven seasons, although it was the first time they've repeated since 2017-18.
"To go back-to-back, that is hard,” McGill-Toolen coach Kate Wood told the AHSAA. “Every game, you get their best shot. We took some losses to teams we thought we were better than, but it built (our team’s) resiliency.”
McT's Paris McQuirter was named tournament MVP. Emma Moore, Chelsea Daffi and Juliet Galla joined her on the all-tournament team.
Meanwhile Montgomery Catholic also went back-to-back in the state title matches by beating UMS-Wright 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-19) in the 4A championship on Nov. 2 in Birmingham.
Montgomery Catholic's Maria Schawrz was the tournament MVP and was joined by teammates Grace Levanda, Mally Barranco and Harper Howell.
“I am so proud of these girls. We talked about going back to back and that it would be hard to accomplish but we all knew we wanted to still be playing volleyball on Nov. 2," first-year head coach Jenn Denham said. "We worked hard towards that common goal all season. I am really thankful for these girls, their families and the school community for welcoming my family! We are blessed to be a part of something special at Catholic!”