Junior High Lady Panthers Take State Title

There is an old saying that hard work pays off, and it did just that for the Junior High Lady Panther volleyball team. After summer workouts, summer camps, and a lot of practice, the Panthers captured the 2A junior high state volleyball championship Saturday at Kingwood Christian.

“I am so proud of these girls and what they accomplished this season”, first year head coach Kaylon Cantrell said. “From day one they set a standard of excellence and never quit working toward the goal of a state championship.”

Assistant Coach Audrey Parks added, “They are an amazing group of young women who decided to focus on a team goal and achieved great individual and team success.”

That work showed on Saturday as the Lady Panthers walked through the tournament defeating Ft Dale 25-17 and 25-10, and Evangel Christian 25-18 and 25-20. In the third match, a determined Macon East team took the Panthers to a third game where PCA prevailed 15-8.

The final match featured an Eastwood team that had just come off a very emotional match with Macon East that propelled them to the championship game. After a close first game, 25-23, the Panthers rallied to win game two 25-14 to claim their first state championship. It was an opportunity for redemption for the Panthers. Eastwood was the only team to defeat PCA all season long. Bailey Mount was named to the all-tournament team and Alex McLain was named the tournament MVP.

“It took every single one of these ladies to win the state championship and we deserved it,” according to freshman Alex McLain. “We worked extremely hard in practice, and yeah, we had some fun. Overall we put in a lot of effort, time, sweat, and heart to accomplish what we had set our minds to from day one."

It was a great finish for freshmen Alex McLain, Bailey Mount, Hannah Lambert, Elisabeth Kelley, Rachel Evans, Amber Gomez, and Nicole Hoots. “This year was the best year for our JV team,” said Hoots.  “I was amazed with how well our team played together and how much we achieved.  We had a strong first team and an outstanding back up team.  I could not have asked for a better 9th grade season.”

The Panthers finished the season with a 17 – 1 record.