volleyball Archive

The defending Class 1A Baker volleyball team began its quest for a 22nd consecutive district title and a repeat as state champions Tuesday against a determined Central team. The Lady Gators won the match in straight sets 25-15, 25-22, 25-11 but the match wasn’t without some drama.

The 2024 volleyball season didn’t get off to the start Baker was hoping for even if a loss to 6A Pace might not have been unexpected. The Lady Gators looked strong coming out of the gate taking the first set. But one set does not a match make as the Lady Patriots took the next three sets as Baker lost 25-21, 17-25, 14-25, 23-25.

Baker’s defending Class 1A state champion volleyball team picked up it’s first win of the season on Thursday taking down Walton in four sets by scores of 25-20, 22-25, 25-9 and 26-24. “I feel really great (about the win),” Lady Gator coach Chelsea Medley said. “We came out great in the first (set) and we got overly confident and a little cocky in the second. You can’t do that.

As the 2023-3034 school year ends, it seems there’s always some housekeeping or final projects to complete throughout the school. Perhaps no project at Baker school was more important, other than graduation, than the ring ceremony for the Lady Gator volleyball team held May 9. The ring ceremony was just that, an opportunity to hand out state championships rings to the volleyball team, the coaches, support staff and members of the school administration.

Baker School’s Haley Westberry still has her senior season in basketball season to finish. But she has already taken a big step in her educational and athletic future.
Westberry, an outside hitter for the Lady Gator Class 1A state champion volleyball team, has signed a scholarship to play at Coastal Alabama Community College in Brewton, Ala.

It has been almost four months since Baker School volleyball libero Chloe Ates to committed to play for St. Leo University, a Catholic school in St. Leo located near Tampa. Tuesday, Dec. 12, Ates, the libero on Baker’s state championship team, made it official signing with the Lions.

What do you call it when the Baker Gators or Lady Gators hold a celebration for a state championship? Baker athletic director said tradition, which is true as the Lady Gator volleyball team’s state championship is the seventh team title in school history. It might also be called a “Gatorbration.”

The 2023 Baker Lady Gator volleyball seniors will forever be linked together as the team that finally scaled Mount Championship.

Lily Adams, Chloe Ates, Karsyn Crinklaw and Haley Westberry were the players on the floor getting the cheers from the fans. Laney Alazone, the team manager was Baker’s fifth senior.

It’s true that the apple doesn’t seem to fall too far from the tree.

Some family trees produce lawyers. Other family trees might yield an abundance of actors, builders, mechanics or accountants.

Not all the numbers tell the full story of the 2023 Baker volleyball season. The Lady Gators finished the season with an 18-11 record. None of the 11 losses came against another 1A school. They beat seven schools in larger classifications including Milton, Crestview and Pace, twice.