One for the Thumb
Volleyball Celebrates Fifth Straight Title
Today, the Lady Raider Volleyball Team received their Championship rings at a ceremony in The Learning Commons. This marks the fifth straight state Title for JA Volleyball and the ninth title overall in school history which have all occurred in the last ten years. During those last ten years, your Lady Raiders have 338 wins, a win percentage of 83%, and are averaging 34 wins per season. In the tournaments they entered this year, they finished 3rd in the Collierville Classic, 5th in the Southern Classic, and 3rd in the Fairhope High Invite
Individually, JA had 4 All Americans across multiple platforms which included Kaylee Lowther, Ava Antonaros, Harper Griffin, Carson Caraway. Coach Melissa Denson was once again named MAIS Coach of The Year and Kaylee Lowther grabbed MAIS Player of The Year honors. Four others were named All-MAIS — Ava Antonaros, Carson Caraway, Harper Griffin and Sophie Sosa. This team featured three Academic All Americans (Meg Ellis, Harper Griffin and Kaylee Lowther). Kaylee also received Player of the year honors from MaxPreps, volleyballmag.com, SBLive, and of course for the first time ever in Gatorade Volleyball history she became the fifth straight JA Lady Raider to win the coveted award. JA is now the only school in the nation that has won its state’s Gatorade Player of the Year Award for five consecutive years.
The Lady Raiders finished 35-13 this season while dropping just 1 match in conference play. They won their final 13 matches in MAIS play after that loss including an impressive 5-set victory in the Title Match. In fact, the last three years they went 53-1 against MAIS competition. Besides finishing as the top team in the MAIS they also finished 3rd in the state according to MaxPreps
Members of the Lady Raider Volleyball Team include: (8th Grade) - Kinsley Ables, Lillie Henson, (Freshman) - Anna Holladay Craft, Carson Caraway, Darby Horn, Madelyn Rodrigue, (Sophomores) - Keira Hariel, Evey Sutton, Justina Visgarra, Sadie Williamson, (Juniors) Brooke Dennis, Ava McManus, Sara Breyden Moulder, Sophie Sosa, (Seniors) - Ava Antanaros, Mallory Brooks, Meghan Ellis, Harper Griffin, Kaylee Lowther, Madilyn Ray,(Coaches) Melissa Denson, Megan Sullivan, Krishna Chigurupati, Amanda Smithers.