Caledonia sweeps Pass Christian 3-0 to capture 2022 MHSAA 4A Volleyball Championship

The Cavaliers fell behind early in the first set, but found their footing and rallied to take three-straight

Author:
Tyler Cleveland, SBLive
Publish date:
Oct 20, 2022 6:19 PM EDT

STARKVILLE — The Caledonia Cavaliers came into Thursday’s MHSAA 4A Volleyball Championship match against Pass Christian determined not to let the moment be too big.

After a slow start in the first set, the Cavaliers found their footing and dominated in a 3-0 win over Pirates to clinch the state title.

“I’m proud of my team,” Caledonia coach Samantha Brooks said. “I’m proud of our mental toughness. Playing in an environment like this puts a lot of pressure on a team, but we pushed through and got it done.”

The Cavaliers fell behind 8-2 in the first set, but mounted a comeback after a back-to-back big plays from seniors Emily Clark and Lauren Brown.

They won 13 of the next 20 points, pulling even at 15-15. They broke a 20-20 tie by winning the final five points of the set to win it 25-20 and take a 1-0 lead.

“We got in our own heads at the start of the first set,” Caledonia junior Brianna Holliman said. “But we got together and settled down after that.”

She can say that again — the Cavaliers dominated the second set 25-15, and pulled away in the third to win 25-17.

Junior outside hitter Mary Beth Edmondson slammed home the match-winning point, leading to a dog-pile for the Cavaliers (23-8) and a wild celebration from the huge Caledonia contingency at Mississippi State’s Newell-Grissom Volleyball facility.

The win provided a bit of redemption for Caledonia, which missed a championship berth in 2021 after losing in North State to eventual state champion Pontotoc after taking a 2-0 lead.

"That definitely motivated us this whole season," said Holliman, who took home MVP honors. "This crowd was unbelievable. We didn’t expect our fans to show up like this, especially being 45 minutes away. But they did.”

The loss in the championship was the second in as many years for Pass Christian (18-14).

“This is a very special group of girls,” Pass Christian coach Luke Lee said. “We set a goal to get to the championship again, and we accomplished that. We still feel like we had everything we needed to win a championship, but we came up just short for the second year in a row. You just have to give (Caledonia) credit.”

Photos by Austin Frayser