Macie Phifer, Ingomar hold off St. Andrew's to win MHSAA 2A Volleyball Championship
OXFORD, Miss. — It took five sets, but Macie Phifer and Ingomar were not going to be denied.
The Falcons wrapped up their second-straight MHSAA State Volleyball Championship with a 15-9 win in final set against St. Andrew’s Friday afternoon at the University of Mississippi’s Gillom Center.
Freshman Abigail Miller provided the assist on the game-winning point, which Phifer emphatically slammed into the center of the court to set off a raucous celebration for the Falcon faithful.
It was an appropriate end, considering Pfifer’s match-high 28 kills and Miller’s 40 assists paced the Ingomar attack in all five sets.
“That was the first one we’ve had go five,” Ingomar coach Andy Wilbanks said. “I told the girls in the huddle that whoever gets hot to start this final set is going to win it, and thank goodness it was us.”
The Falcons (35-4) jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead in the final period, with Pfifer doing most of the damage. Her 25th kill of the match gave the Falcons an 8-4 lead. She had three more down the closing stretch.
With the win, Ingomar finished its season with a string of eight wins, including straight-set playoff wins over J.Z George, Hamilton, Union and Walnut in the run-up to Friday’s match.
“We just had this attitude that we refused to lose,” Phifer said. “We just looked at each other in that huddle before the final set and said ‘We got this.’”
Phifer certainly did. The reigning Class 2A Miss Volleyball was as-advertised, especially in key moments. The MVP Award in the championship game was her second in as many years, and should fit nicely into the trophy cabinet next to the two MVPs from Ingomar’s back-to-back girls’ basketball championships.
“She pushes herself as hard as any athlete I’ve ever been around,” Wilbanks said. “She also responds as well to criticism and coaching. I’ll get onto her about something, and she’ll come around a few minutes later and say ‘thank you.’ She’s just an incredible athlete. Very driven.”
St. Andrew’s (18-10) won the first set 25-21 and the fourth 25-19. Ingomar won the second set 25-23 and the third 25-20.
Photos by Austin Frayser
2023 MHSAA 2A Volleyball Championship - Ingomar vs. St. Andrew's Episcopal
