On Saturday November 16, the Xavier College Preparatory Gators secured the AIA Volleyball 6A State Championship.
This is Xavier’s third state title for the 2024 fall season and Xavier’s 161st state championship.
The Gators finished the 2024 season with an overall record of 16-1, and these athletes were led to success by head coach Lamar-Renee Bryant.
The team leapt to victory with top performances by Elle McCreery ‘25, Mattea Saunders ‘26, Tessa Larkin ’27 and Vivian Hickman ‘26.
Hickman, star setter and UCLA commit, said, “If I had to describe our team in one word it would be ‘bonded.’”
She put an immense emphasis on the importance of being together as a team and how close they all are to one another, including the bonds with their senior captains, McCreery, Olivia Lenz ‘25 and Annemarie O’Gara ‘25.
Sophomore outside, Larkin, stated, “We put so much into this season, with all the hard work finally paying off.”
This is Xavier volleyball’s 14th state championship; the last in 2018. Last year, the Gators got knocked out of the tournament in the quarterfinals. This year they knew they had to go all the way.
Sister Lynn Winsor, vice principal of activities and athletic director, had high hopes for this year’s volleyball team and feels they did not disappoint. “From the beginning, everyone believed that this was the year to win and that’s just what they did,” Winsor said.
She also added that this win would not be possible without the amazing support system in the community, including parents, managers, athletic trainers and especially coaches.
