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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll head coach Michael Heard talks with the Cavaliers during a timeout in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Helen Macher (14) sets the ball as John Carroll’s Morgan Scott (4) moves into position for the spike in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Stella Yester (19) passes the ball in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Josie Scalici (16) serves in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Morgan Scott (4) spikes the ball at then net in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Amelia Ragusa (21) sets the ball up for a teammate in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
The Cavalier student section rallies behind John Carroll in a class 6A quarterfinal match against Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Zoey Williams (15) passes the ball in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Helen Macher (14) sets the ball in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Riley Kelner (2) spikes the ball in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Grace Horton (10) spikes the ball in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll head coach Michael Heard talks with the Cavaliers in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Riley Kelner (2) spikes the ball in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Morgan Scott (4) spikes the ball over the hands of Mountain Brook’s Celie Field (9) and Mountain Brook’s Hannah Hitson (32) in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Riley Kelner (2) spikes the ball in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Helen Macher (14) passes the ball in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Sara Archer (7) dives to keep the ball in play in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Helen Macher (14) serves in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Grace Horton (10) spikes the ball in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Sara Archer (7) passes the ball in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Stella Yester (19) spikes the ball in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Amelia Ragusa (21) dives in an attempt to keep the ball in play in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Amelia Ragusa (21) serves in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Amelia Ragusa (21) passes the ball in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Amelia Ragusa (21) passes the ball in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Sara Archer (7) keeps the ball in play in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Stella Yester (19) spikes the ball as Mountain Brook’s Hannah Hitson (32) and Mountain Brook's Hannah Parant (1) jump to block in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Stella Yester (19) keeps the ball in play in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Amelia Ragusa (21) passes the ball in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Stella Yester (19) spikes the ball in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Amelia Ragusa (21) and John Carroll’s Erin Jenkins (3) move to pass the ball in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Helen Macher (14) sets the ball as John Carroll’s Morgan Scott (4) moves into position for the spike in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Josie Scalici (16) passes the ball in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
The John Carroll student section rallies behind the Cavaliers in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Stella Yester (19) passes the ball in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
State Volleyball - JCCHS vs MBHS
John Carroll’s Amelia Ragusa (21) sets the ball in a class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
BIRMINGHAM – Not many expected to see the John Carroll Catholic High School volleyball team as one of the final eight standing in Class 6A.
But there the Cavaliers were, playing in the state quarterfinals on Tuesday morning at the Birmingham CrossPlex. They fell to Mountain Brook in straight sets (25-14, 25-16, 25-17), but head coach Michael Heard had a message for his team following the conclusion of its season.
“The one thing I told them is no matter what, your chin better be up as high as it can be,” the first-year coach said.
John Carroll (22-21) accomplished a great deal in Heard’s first season. The Cavs had not been to the state tournament since 2015, making the experience a first for everyone on this season’s team.
“It was awesome,” Heard said. “None of my kids have ever been as players. They were so excited. For my seniors, it’s a moment they’ll never forget. From a program standpoint, the fact that our underclassmen got to experience state is a huge, huge step forward in the development of the program.”
The Spartans, the defending Class 7A champion, were too much for the Cavs on Tuesday. It was the fourth time this season the teams have met.
“When you play a dynamic team like Mountain Brook, every time you play them they’ll show you a new type of wrinkle. Conversely, they’ve seen everything that we can do. We just ran out of rabbits out of hat basically,” Heard said.
John Carroll’s road to the state tournament was anything but easy once the postseason began. The Cavs rolled through Class 6A, Area 8 play, winning all eight matches without dropping a set. They hosted and won the area tournament in early October to head into the sub-regional round with a 19-19 overall record.
On Oct. 16, John Carroll hosted Gulf Shores in the 6A sub-regional round and pulled out a five-set victory (25-13, 21-25, 25-18, 26-28, 15-10). The following week at super regionals in Montgomery, the Cavs gutted out another five-set win over Wetumpka (25-18, 25-12, 22-25, 23-25, 15-13) to lock up a spot in the state tournament.
Not satisfied with merely making the state tournament, John Carroll knocked off Northridge in the super regional semifinals (25-19, 25-14, 19-25, 25-14). To cap off that day, the Cavs fell to Spanish Fort in four sets (25-21, 21-25, 25-20, 25-17) to finish as the No. 2 seed from the South.
“A lot of adversity that day, but they found a way,” Heard said. “I learned so much about so many of my kids that day.”
Heard is a graduate of John Carroll himself and admits his first team will hold a special place in his heart. Seniors Riley Kelner, Erin Jenkins, Zoey Williams, Amelia Ragusa and Michele McCaw helped lay the foundation for the Cavs’ program under Heard.
“It’s a special group. I’m going to miss this group. We’ll have a special group next year, but nothing like that first foundational group,” he said.
John Carroll may have exceeded in expectations in year one, but Heard hopes to make the Cavs a regular participant at the state tournament once again.
“I’m proud of the way our kids played. To get there was a huge accomplishment,” he said.
