BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Addison was back at Bill Harris Arena Wednesday morning to compete for a state championship for the 14th consecutive season and for the eighth time in nine years, the Lady Bulldogs are headed home with a blue map. Addison swept Orange Beach 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-19) in this year’s 2A State Finals to continue its stellar title run and add another piece of hardware to the trophy case back home.
Head Coach Kaydi Woodard now has two state championships in her two seasons at Addison and she credits the hard work her teams have put in for their continued success. She also believes the leadership that this year’s seniors provided was a big factor in their championship run.
“We are so thankful to have another blue map added to our trophy case. These girls come in and they really work hard all year round. They play club ball, they work out in the summer, they work three days a week in the morning before school and they just deserve it. They deserve it because of all their hard work and I’m so proud of them,” Woodard said. “We have three seniors this time and a big thing with them is that they went through a coaching change, and I know that had to be so hard on them to go from one way of doing things to another and still expecting them to be their best all the time. They’ve been through a lot more than most other seniors have, they’ve experienced loss, they’ve experienced great success and their leadership has just been invaluable to us.”
This year’s state title is the 13th in Addison’s school history and its eighth in the last nine years. Woodard believes there are several factors to that consistent success but knows one of them is the winning tradition that has been established in the Lady Bulldogs’ program by the players and coaches that have come before.
“I really think it’s because of the history that we’ve had and the previous coaches and players that worked so hard to make this program so great,” Woodard said. “Personally, I think they just want to continue living up to that and the girls behind them have had that success and they want to have that too. We keep our eyes focused on the Lord, we pray and have devotionals all the time and we believe that’s a huge part of our success too.
Addison 25 – Orange Beach 17 (1st Set)
The Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 2-0 start over the Lady Makos, but Orange Beach was able to tie things up at 2 just as quickly. Four straight points put Addison in front 6-2 early in the first set and they stretched their lead to 11-4 as the set went on. The lead grew to 17-7 midway through the opening set and the Bulldogs built it up to 22-9 at one point but had to withstand a late run from the Makos before pulling away to take the first set 25-17 and a 1-0 lead in the match.
Addisyn Smothers led Addison with six kills in the set and Dacey Baker added four. Abby Waldrep posted three kills, Bracie Rodgers led the way with four digs and Hadley Butler and Anna Grace Luker each added three digs of their own. Gracie Manley led both teams with 12 assists.
Addison 25 – Orange Beach 17 (2nd Set)
The Bulldogs got off to another fast start in the next set, leading the way 5-0 early. However, Orange Beach was able to cut the lead to 8-5 at one point but Addison managed to pull ahead 16-9 midway through the second set. The Bulldogs extended their lead to 20-14 as the set went on and were eventually able to pull away to win the second set 25 – 17 and take a commanding, 2-0 lead in the 2A State Finals.
Addison 25 – Orange Beach 19 (3rd Set)
Orange Beach was the one to build an early lead in the third set and the Bulldogs found themselves down 4-1 right out of the gate. However, Addison rallied to tie the set at 5 and pulled ahead to take a 10-5 lead before the Makos called timeout. Orange Beach was able to trim the lead to 12-10 at one point and the Bulldogs maintained a slim, 15-13 lead midway through the set but that lead grew to 19-15 as the set went on. Addison moved in front 21-15 late in the set and pulled away to win it 25-19, securing its eighth state championship in nine seasons
Smothers racked up another 20 kills in the match and Baker and Waldrep each added seven and six kills respectively. Manley posted 34 assists in the win and Butler and Rodgers each finished with 12 and 10 digs respectively.
2021 2A All-State Tournament Team
Dacey Baker, Addison
Gracie Manley, Addison
Addisyn Smothers, Addison (MVP)
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