Gerstell Girls’ Volleyball Clinch Championship
Gerstell Academy won its first Independent Athletic Association of Maryland (IAAM) volleyball championship Sunday afternoon, taking the C Conference title, over Indian Creek at Stevenson University in Owings Mills. This historic victory highlighted the team’s fighting spirit and perseverance.
Senior Ava Gaines, who plans to play for Washington & Lee next fall led the Falcons with 14 kills, but she took very little credit for the win, spreading it out among her teammates.
“As a senior, this means everything to me, to see my team all happy. I have loved getting to know them,” Gaines said. “Winning is all about a team effort. It’s never about one player… In order to win this championship, we’re all in this together. We all won because of all of us.”
Senior Jordan Blackburn had nine kills for the Falcons and senior Ashlynn Green added four. Juniors Elena Devers, and Becca Sprinkle along with senior Meredith Haga, freshmen Josie Conley, and Alexis Gilotte along with sophomore Leah Wilson also contributed to the win.
“They all really contributed,” coach Eric Zak said. “We don’t typically get a lot of offense from our middles and our right side because our outsides are so strong, but we got enough offense and some key blocks that kept our outsides able to get hits because the middles put enough balls away and the right side put enough balls away their block had to stay honest.”
The Falcons lost in the championship game a year ago and needed that team effort against a valiant Indian Creek who played to win.
- Note: Some content of this article is attributed to the IAAM Website author Katharine Dunn
2500 Old Westminster Pike
Finksburg, MD 21048-1823
410-861-3000
1-866-861-3300
Finksburg, MD 21048-1823
410-861-3000
1-866-861-3300
