STATE CHAMPIONS! Finally! Lady Patriots secure state title win with gutsy play
BIRMINGHAM – Frustrations ran deep within the Bob Jones volleyball program by reaching the AHSAA State Championship for the fourth time in five years under head coach Jenny Jarrett, who watched her squads lose its previous three attempts, only to fight and to win the 2026 state title. Through enormous gutsy play, Jarrett finally saw her team hoist the Blue Map Trophy signifying an AHSAA State Championship and the feeling of relief finally replacing the deep-seated annoyance of being so close.
“It’s been a long journey to this point and this team went through all of the emotions possible and just refocused to perfection,” said Jarrett of her No. 2 ranked team which easily took the first two sets against fourth ranked Thompson (31-9) in the finals before watching in almost disbelief the Warriors winning the next two sets (25-23, 25-14) pushing the championship match to a fifth and deciding set.
“Going into that fifth set I gathered together the team and told them very simply we would do nothing different than we did in the first two sets (Bob Jones won by scores of 25-14, 25-16),” added Jarrett. “Then I told them to hit the court, go get ‘em, and I believed in them to win.”
The Lady Patriots (38-12) did just that by posting a 15-10 score in the fifth set to secure the Class 6A title.
“I just knew this was going to happen eventually as we’ve so close many times,” said Brooklyn Morgan, Bob Jones senior who has been on the varsity squad since her sophomore season. “Not many believed we could do it, but I truly believed 110-percent since the beginning of summer workouts. I saw our team and how could we could be. Winning the championship brought overwhelming tears for joy and excitement, but the reality of winning has caused most of us not to think that would be our last time to touch the court as a Bob Jones Patriot.”
With six seniors, three juniors and eight sophomores on the team roster, Jarrett knew going into the season there needed to be some of the girls to grow quickly into their roles as only one of the Patriots on the floor at the state tourney held in Birmingham actually had numerous hours on the court prior to the 2026 season. Jarrett added, “They grew and put it all together as they unified as a team and understood their roles. We’ve had some amazing teams here before this season, but this team was fun to coach and possessed a lot of heart and soul. Four times in the last five years we have been in this moment as we just haven’t been able to finish the job. This time I knew we were going to finish strong.”
The All-Tournament Team included for Lady Patriots. They included Brooklyn Morgan (Sr.), Analesa Hermesch (Sr.), Genie Brown (So.) and Zoe Robinson (So.). Robinson posted 8 kills, 31 assists, 11 digs to earn the MVP honor.
After arriving back home with their families, the Lady Patriots decided to celebrate as a team and did so by meeting for dinner at Taco Mama’s at Town Madison. “Yes, that gave us a chance to breathe,” said Jarrett.
Morgan, who would like nothing better than to continue her volleyball play by suiting up for the UAH Chargers in college where she said education and athletics come at a high level, added about her and the rest of her teammates’ post-game excitement, “We all had overwhelming tears and we had an excitement overload. It was a long time coming, but I knew it would happen.”
Jarrett knows she has a bevy of players expected to return in 2027, only this time, they’ll walk into the new season as defending State Champions, a position that hasn’t happened for Bob Jones volleyball since last winning a state title in 2013.
