BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Addison Lady Bulldogs were back in familiar territory Wednesday, seeking their ninth state championship in 10 years. The defending state champions faced off against the Eagles of Covenant Christian in this year’s 1A State Finals and they swept their way to their third straight state title and their 14th in school history.
Abby Waldrep, Bailee Ory, Dacey Baker and Gracie Manley each earned All-State Tournament honors and Manley was named Tournament MVP.
Addison Head Coach Kaydi Woodard was proud to see all of her team’s hard work pay off with another state championship, but she’s especially proud of the way they’ve bonded throughout the season.
“I’m extremely proud of them, they’ve worked very hard. This summer they worked out at 5 a.m. three days a week and then had practice. So, it’s been a lot of work put in this year. For most of my seniors this was their third state championship in a row, so it was extremely special for us to get a three-peat. That’s what they were working for,” Woodard said. “With this team there has been almost no stress the whole season. They get along like sisters and sometimes they fight like sisters too, but they are there for each other. It has been stress free, drama free and they are just the happiest little team I have ever been on or coached. So, they made it easy, I can’t say that enough, they made it easy.”
Manley is a senior on this year’s Addison team and this is the fourth blue map she’s been able to get her hands on as a Lady Bulldog. She already had three state titles under her belt coming into Wednesday’s match but claiming this one with her fellow seniors and going out on top meant a lot to her.
“I couldn’t do it without all my teammates and I’m really grateful to be MVP. In my eyes, I don’t really think its any one person, I think its all of us. I think everyone does their part and we couldn’t have done it without anyone on our team. I think everyone on our team does such a great job and we work together so well. I’ve lost a state championship before and this is definitely better,” Manley laughed. “It’s just the best way to go out honestly and I’m very proud that we could do that together.”
Addison – Covenant Christian (25-9, 25-20, 25-18)
The Lady Bulldogs dominated the opening set against Covenant Christian, taking an early, 6-0 lead and pulling ahead 14-2 at one point midway through the set. Addison maintained an 18-8 advantage later in the set and went on take the opening frame over the Lady Eagles 25-9.
The next set was a little more interesting. Addison got off to a 4-0 start to build another early lead, but Covenant Christian responded and came back to trim the lead 6-5. The Lady Bulldogs led just 9-8 midway through the set but put together a scoring run to move out in front 15-10. The Lady Eagles cut the lead to four at one point but couldn’t get any closer than that and Addison cruised to a 25-20 win in the second set.
The third set was a battle for the Lady Bulldogs. Covenant Christian led the way 7-3 early and maintained a 10-7 advantage as the set went on. However, Addison began to come back, chipping away at the lead until the set was knotted at 13. The Lady Bulldogs pulled ahead to take a 16-13 lead and held onto a 20-17 lead late in the set. Addison finished the set strong, outscoring the Lady Eagles 5-1 the rest of the way to secure a 25-18 win and its third consecutive state championship.
Baker led the Lady Bulldogs with 13 kills in the win, followed by Katie Barrett with nine and Waldrep with eight. Manley led the way with 29 assists for Addison and Ory finished with 12 digs.
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