Pine Grove wins first-ever MHSAA volleyball championship with 3-0 sweep of Noxapater

OXFORD, Miss. — Pine Grove had never played for a state championship in volleyball before Friday’s showdown with Noxapater.

You wouldn’t have known it watching the Panthers dominate the Tigers 3-0 in front of a packed house at Ole Miss’s Gillom Center.

The Panthers (23-10) won in straight sets, 25-17, 25-22 and 25-19 thanks to some inspired play from seniors Selah Jumper and Lexi Beard and the MVP of the match, freshman setter Myles Switcher.

“We didn’t believe at the beginning of the season,” Switcher said. “Especially after we got off to a slow start. But we just continued to get better throughout the season and we did it.”

Friday’s match against Noxapater (18-8) was never truly in doubt.

After cruising through the first set, the Panthers got a challenge in the second when a series of unforced errors helped Noxapater play it to a 21-21 tie.

But Bella Fryar slammed home a kill to put Pine Grove ahead 22-21, Addison McMillin served up an ace and Beard slammed home the final point with a kill.

“We never want to be predictable,” Pine Grove coach Adam Mauney said. “We don’t have a ‘superstar’ per-se, and we try to get everyone involved so you never know who is going to take the shot.”

The victory hit different for Mauney, the Pine Grove grad who took the job at his alma mater following several successful seasons and a state championship at Hickory Flat.

“These girls are typical Pine Grove female athletes,” Mauney said. “(Everyone) knows what that means — they work hard on and off the court and they want to win.”

2023 MHSAA 1A Volleyball Championship - Pine Grove vs. Noxapater

The Pine Grove Panthers defeated the Noxapater Tigers 3-0 to clinch the 2023 MHSAA Class 1A State Volleyball Championship on Friday, Oct. 20 at the Gillom Center on the campus of Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss.