Photo: Lake Cormorant players celebrate the final point in the 6A North Half championship Monday night over Neshoba Central. (Mary Scott/Oak River Media)
LAKE CORMORANT, Miss. – The Lake Cormorant High School volleyball team is heading back to the state championship for a fourth consecutive year after a dominant straight-set victory over Neshoba Central in the MHSAA Class 6A North Half finals Monday night.
The Lady Gators defeated the Lady Rockets 3-0, clinching the match with commanding set scores of 25-17, 25-14, and 25-16.
The victory sets up a title defense for Lake Cormorant, which won the Class 5A championship in its final year in the classification and has since claimed two straight Class 6A titles.
“They played really well,” said Lake Cormorant coach Christina Morgan. “I think there’s like, some nerves that kind of come in when you play in a big game like this. And I think they did a good job handling it. They really enjoyed the big crowd that we had tonight.”
Lake Cormorant will now face South Half champion George County for the state title. The championship match is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton.
The Lady Gators were led by a stellar performance from two-time 6A Miss Volleyball Sofia Gonzalez, who amassed 18 kills, 24 digs, and three service aces. Ma’Kayla Hill added nine kills, making her presence felt early with a service run in the first set that gave Lake Cormorant a 7-2 lead.
Morgan credited Neshoba Central’s tough defense for challenging her team.
“They made us earn our points,” Morgan said. “We had to be really, really aggressive to be able to score a point on them. We were trying to mix up our shots… to try to keep their defense guessing what we were going to do.”
The offense was orchestrated by setters Payton Davis, who provided 24 assists, and Kayla Gonzalez, who had 18 assists. Defensively, Emily Huerta contributed 16 digs and two aces, while Rebecca Rohrbacher added 13 digs.
Morgan said the team’s depth is a significant advantage.
“I think that’s one thing that makes us so strong, is we have so many big hitters,” she said. “I know Sofia gets a lot of the (recognition), and she’s awesome, right? But we also have Ma’Kayla Hill, we have Peyton Davis, we have Kelsey Eggers, who’s swinging really well.”
The coach attributes this year’s success to the players’ tight-knit bond and focus.
“They’ve got just like, a really tight bond, and it’s been really special,” Morgan said. “It’s very clear, like they know what they want to do. And I just love seeing that determination in them and the way that they want to do it together.”
Lake Cormorant has become one of the dominant high school programs in Mississippi volleyball. They have won state championships in 2009, 2012, 2013, 2020, 2022, 2023, and in 2024. The Lady Gators were state runners-Up in 2010, 2017, and 2018.
LEWISBURG FALLS IN FIVE-SET 7A THRILLER: The Lady Patriots bid to join county rival Lake Cormorant in the state finals fell two points short Monday night. Madison Central won the 7A North Half championship in a five-set classic that ended with the Lady Jags winning the fifth set 15-13. Madison Central came away with the match by set scores of 25-20, 23-25, 8-25, 25-14, 15-13. The Lady Patriots ended their season with a 28-11 record.
Madison Central, 7A North Half champs (Photo credit: Jody McRee Photography)
Monday, Oct. 13
Prep volleyball
MHSAA 7A North Half Championship
Madison Central 3, Lewisburg 2 (25-20, 23-25, 8-25, 25-14, 15-13)
MHSAA 6A North Half Championship
Lake Cormorant 3, Neshoba Central 0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-16)
NOTABLES:
Ole Miss men’s basketball picked eight, Mississippi State 10th in preseason SEC men’s basketball media poll. Florida is picked as the preseason favorite.
Ole Miss is picked to finish sixth and Mississippi State 11th in SEC preseason women’s basketball media poll. South Carolina is picked as preseason favorite.
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The boys finished 3rd in the region with a team score of 339.
More importantly, we qualified for the State Championship Tournament!
Luke Osborne led the way with a career best score of 80.#RespectTheHill
Bob Bakken provides content for DeSoto County News and its social media channels. He is an award-winning broadcaster, along with being a reporter and photographer, and has done sports media relations work with junior and minor league hockey teams. Along with his reports on this website, you will find this veteran media member providing sports updates and high school football play-by-play on Rebel 95.3 FM Radio.
