Undisputed champions

Perfect season culminates in ACA’s 14th state volleyball title

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
October 30, 2022

There are many volleyball championship banners hanging above the court in the gymnasium at Asheville Christian Academy, but when the Swannanoa school raises its latest, it will represent much more than a state title. 

The 14th volleyball state championship in Lions history, clinched Oct. 29, in a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Wake Christian, will, in fact, symbolize perfection.

Number 1 seed ACA put its 23-0 mark on the line Saturday, as it hosted the NCISAA 3A State Championship match against the number 3 seed Bulldogs, who entered the contest with a 23-8 record. Head coach Torri Render and the Lions, for the first time this season, would need five sets to complete their first undefeated title run since 2017.

The Lions were dominant throughout much of the 2022 campaign, dropping only four sets all season, and none in the seven matches leading up to the title game. The team found itself down, 1-0, after dropping the first set, 25-22, to an energized Wake program.

Seniors Katie Alexander, who led ACA with 50 assists in the match, and outside hitter Peyton Hightower gave their team a 3-point lead in the second set when the setter recorded one of her team-leading 19 digs with her foot. The save set up a powerful kill for Hightower, who ended the long volley to give the home team its biggest lead of the match. Hightower, who finished with a team-high 21 kills, was a force at the net in ACA’s 25-19 victory in the tying set.

The home team jumped out to a quick lead in the third set, but the Bulldogs fought to a 3-2 advantage, which they held on their way to a 25-23 win.

Down, 2-1, sophomore Haleigh Kamer, who led the Lions with 226 kills this year, made plays on the offensive and defensive sides of the net, as the Lions never trailed in the fourth set. The momentum from their decisive 25-17 showing carried into the final set, as ACA found room between the Wake defense in a 15-8 performance to clinch the title.

The victory was an “amazing” experience for the team and the six senior players who have attended the school together for years, according to the head coach, who picked up her fourth state championship at the helm of the program.

“It’s only the second time in school history we’ve had the opportunity to host this game, so that’s huge,” Render said. “It was a really fun atmosphere to play in, and we fed off that because Wake is a really good team.”

The coach praised her players for their ability to respond after falling behind, 2-1.

“We really turned it on in game 4,” she said. “We’ve had some tough matches this year, but with everything on the line in a state championship match, in a win or go home situation, this had to be our toughest.”

As they have all season, the Lions relied on each other with the game on the line, according to Alexander.

“We’ve all been through a lot together, and we knew we all had to step up to get this done,” she said. “It’s really emotional because the six seniors, who have all been playing on this team since we were freshmen, are about to go into the next chapters of our lives. So, it’s bittersweet because we’re all so close with each other.”

Senior Elizabeth Harrington also highlighted the team’s chemistry and work ethic as the keys to an undefeated season and title run.

“It’s a lot of hard work, and it’s not the kind of thing that just comes to you,” she said. “You really have push yourself in practice, and this is a team that also likes to have fun. By the last set tonight, we could have just given up, but that’s not was this team does, so we worked together and closed it out.”

The playoff atmosphere fueled by the home crowd also played a role in the championship victory, Alexander added.

“It helped a lot,” she said. “We have a lot of energy on this team, but having their energy pick us up when we were down let us know there was no way we were losing on this court.”

Photos of the ACA Lions’ state championship victory over Wake Christian Academy can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.