CLINTON, Miss. — Lewisburg won its seventh state volleyball championship Thursday night, beating defending champion Ocean Springs 3-1 in the MHSAA Class 7A final at Mississippi Christian University. Makayla Gathright’s kill finished it, 25-16 in Set 4.
The Lady Patriots (35-8) edged two tight sets, 25-23 and 31-29, dropped Set 3 25-14, then controlled the fourth. They add 2026 to state titles in 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2023 and 2024. Head coach Amy Hendrichovsky, who took over in 2020, has led three of the seven.
Set
Lewisburg
Ocean Springs
1
25
23
2
31
29
3
14
25
4
25
16
Two sets decided in the final points
An Ocean Springs error opened the match, and Set 1 stayed tight from there. The teams were tied 4-4 when the Greyhounds ran four straight points to lead 8-4. Makayla Gathright answered with a tip-in that put Lewisburg ahead 11-10, and an Addison Cole kill made it 14-12. Late in the set the Lady Patriots led 22-21 before a couple of quick points forced coach Amy Hendrichovsky to call timeout. Gathright and Cole came out of it with a big block for 23-21. Ocean Springs tied it at 23, Hendrichovsky used her second timeout, and Lewisburg closed it out 25-23 for a 1-0 match lead.
An Ocean Springs ace opened Set 2, but three straight Gwen Tuffield blocks gave Lewisburg a 5-1 lead and a fourth made it 8-2. The Greyhounds ran after the Patriots had led by seven, pulling within 14-10, and Lewisburg pushed the margin back out to 19-12 and then 22-19. Ocean Springs closed the gap and took a 23-22 lead, which brought another Hendrichovsky timeout. Back-to-back Lewisburg points tied it at 24, and the set stayed locked at 26, 27, 28 and 29 before the Lady Patriots won it 31-29 for a 2-0 lead.
Ocean Springs answers in Set 3
Lewisburg led 4-2 early in Set 3, but the Greyhounds settled in. Points traded until Ocean Springs took a 7-6 lead; a Kate Denman kill interrupted one Ocean Springs run, but the Greyhounds still led 10-7. They played much better from there, building a 16-10 lead that brought another Hendrichovsky timeout, and took the set 25-14. Lewisburg still led the match 2-1.
Lewisburg takes over in Set 4
The Greyhounds hit into the net to open Set 4, and a Tuffield ace put Lewisburg up 7-4. An Addison Cole kill made it 14-10, and an Ocean Springs error stretched it to 15-10 and drew a Greyhound timeout. A big Tuffield kill made it 18-14. Ocean Springs hit another into the net and called time at 19-14.
From there the Patriots pulled away. Emma Beeson made two great digs that forced an Ocean Springs error, and another error with Beeson serving made it 21-14. Gathright and Bailey Thompson combined on a block for 22-14, an Ocean Springs error made it 23-14, and a Lewisburg double let the Greyhounds get on the board at 23-15. A Denman kill brought match point at 24-15, Ocean Springs got one more at 24-16, and Gathright’s kill ended it.
The Lady Patriots completed the 3-1 victory over the defending champions in the Class 7A final.
A final between the top two teams in 7A
The title game matched the two highest-rated teams in Class 7A. In the Mississippi Volleyball Power Index update of Oct. 13, Ocean Springs rated first in 7A and Lewisburg second, 98.1 to 97.7. MaxPreps’ rankings had them 1-2 in the opposite order.
Entering the final
Record
District
MVPI (7A / state)
Ocean Springs
32-8
12-0
98.1 (1st / 2nd)
Lewisburg
34-8
9-1
97.7 (2nd / 3rd)
Lewisburg had won the teams’ only earlier meeting this season, 2-1 (25-19, 20-25, 15-12) in the Gold Bracket of the MHSAA Invitational on Aug. 1, its third straight win in the series. That left Lewisburg ahead 5-2 all time before tonight, and the title match makes it 6-2 and four in a row. Both teams reached the final through five-set wins on Oct. 12, Lewisburg over Germantown and Ocean Springs over Brandon, and the Greyhounds arrived on an eight-match win streak.
Lewisburg finished 28-11 last season and lost the 7A North Half to Madison Central 3-2. Ocean Springs won the 2025 title. Between them, the two programs now hold the last four 7A championships: Lewisburg in 2023, 2024 and 2026, Ocean Springs in 2025.
