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Mattie Gardner Named Mountain Brook’s New Volleyball Coach

By RuBin E. GRant

PLAY HARD

Young Bucs Boys Soccer Team Finally Getting a Chance at a Repeat

Graham Houlditch was one of 7 players to score in the Buc’s 9-0 win over Tuscaloosa County last week.

By RuBin E. GRant

The Hoover Bucs figured their best chance to defend their 2019 Class 7A boys soccer state championship was in 2020.

With 13 seniors on their roster, the Bucs were off to a hot start with an 8-0-2 record. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a pause and eventually the cancellation of the rest of season.

“It was hugely disappointing,” Hoover coach Kris Keplinger said. “We had a really good team. I had kids who had been on the team since the eighth or ninth grade.”

So, when the 2021 season began, with all those experienced players graduated, Keplinger didn’t think the Bucs had a good chance to repeat since technically they were still the defending champs.

But Hoover entered this week ranked No. 1 in the Alabama Soccer Coaches Super Poll and in Class 7A with a 16-2 record. The Bucs’ only two losses were 1-0 to Grissom and 3-2 on penalty kicks to Oak Mountain.

“I am pleasantly surprised,” Keplinger said. “To be honest with you, I was kind of looking at this as a rebuilding year, but we have some good players in key positions and we have had some younger players who have stepped up and filled spots.”

Hoover has seven seniors, including four starters – Dylan Steely and Igor Rudolph, Jay Udeh and Constantine Hontzas, a kicker on the

‘We tell our kids the same thing we tell the media, if we play our hardest and execute, it doesn’t matter whether we win or lose, but if we do that, what happens, happens, and we can live with the outcome.’

HOOVER COACH KRIS KEPLINGER

See HOOVER, page 27

Mountain Brook didn’t have to look far to find its new volleyball coach.

Assistant coach Mattie Gardner was elevated to the head coaching job April 8, receiving approval from the Mountain Brook Board of Education.

Gardner has been with the Spartans’ volleyball program since 2017 and served as a varsity assistant the past two seasons, while retiring head coach Vickie Nichols was leading Mountain Brook to state championships in 2019 (Class 7A) and 2020 (Class 6A).

“We are excited for Coach Gardner to implement her leadership and vision as she begins her tenure as head coach of our outstanding volleyball program,” Mountain Brook athletics director Benny Eaves said in a statement. “Her belief in developing, encouraging, and inspiring female student-athletes to reach their full potential is evident, and her passion for the game of volleyball is infectious.”

Gardner led Mountain Brook’s freshman volleyball team to the Birmingham metro championship in 2017 and guided the JV team to the most single-season wins in school history in See GARDNER, page 27

Mattie Gardner has been with the Spartans’ volleyball program since 2017.

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