By BAKER ELLIS / Sports Editor

MONTGOMERY – It wasn’t easy, and it sure wasn’t quick, but the Cornerstone volleyball Lady Chargers outlasted two opponents in the AISA A Final Four at Faulkner University in Montgomery on Oct. 2 to claim their first-ever volleyball state championship.

The Lady Chargers came into the Final Four with the most losses of any team, either in the A or AA tournament, with 12. They took down Lowndes on Oct. 19 in the Elite Eight for a shot at the AISA A title, and faced off against Sumter Academy in the Final Four round.

From the jump in the Final Four game, it was evident both teams were evenly matched. Both played a conservative, defensive game and it was not uncommon for rallies to last upwards of a minute a piece. Cornerstone dropped the first set and won the second by the same score, 26-24.

The next two sets were not as close but still competitive, and Cornerstone took the third, 25-19, but dropped the fourth, 16-25, to set up the winner-take all fifth set. The Lady Chargers fell behind in the fifth set 11-12, but won the next four points in a row to escape the Final Four round with a 24-26, 26-24, 25-19, 16-25, 15-12 win. The match took an hour and 55 minutes.

In the championship game, the Lady Chargers took on previously undefeated and defending AISA A champs Northside Methodist Academy, which, after its Final Four victory over Clarke Prep, was 28-0 on the season. The teams once again were evenly matched, but Cornerstone was a little more on the offensive against the undefeated Lady Eagles, and pushed the paced behind the play of Lindsey Greer and Laura Beth Franklin. The two teams split the first two sets, 25-17, 25-16.

Northside won the third set and seemed to be gaining momentum and control of the match. Teams don’t make it this far in the year without losing a game for no reason, as they took the third set, 25-17. But the Lady Chargers battled back, taking the fourth set, 25-16, and forcing a winner-take-all fifth set.

The fifth set was a battle through and through, with neither team pulling ahead, both were playing for something different. For Northside, a win would have meant two straight championships, and with nine juniors and sophomores on the roster, a win would have likely meant the start of a dynasty. For Cornerstone, the win would have meant validation on a statewide scale. Eventually, it was Cornerstone who took home the crown, with a 15-13 fifth-set victory.

“They fought really, really hard,” second year Cornerstone head coach Rudy Frey said after the championship match. “We’ve made it to the Final Four four years in a row now, but this is the first championship that we’ve got. It feels amazing, amazing. The senior girls played their hearts out. We battled for every point.”

Greer and Kaylee Witten were named to the All-Tournament team while Franklin was the Tournament MVP. Cornerstone played over 400 points worth of volleyball on the day, and finished the season 19-12.