Germantown volleyball rallies to advance to first MHSAA state championship since 2015
MADISON – Rita Sharpe had a vision when she took over the Germantown volleyball program in 2019 — winning a North State championship within four years was one of the highlights of that plan. The Mavericks hadn't advanced to a state championship game since 2015.
That all changed on Monday night.
"I'm just so excited," Sharpe said. "This is huge for our program. We've been developing these girls — I have four seniors on the team — we've developed as freshmen and they're just awesome.
"We're just super blessed to have this opportunity."
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Sophomore DeAndrea McMillian led Germantown in a 3-1 (26-24, 25-17, 27-25, 25-15) win over Madison Central to advance to the MHSAA Class 6A championship game.
"(McMillian) is a beast at the net," Sharpe said. "She's a fantastic player. She made such a difference on our front row," Sharpe said. "Anytime we put up a ball she smashes it and I love that about her. It's awesome."
McMillian had a match-high 17 kills for the Mavericks (24-11) and was instrumental in their comeback from losing the first set. It was a matter of showing resilience and focusing on each other, according to Sharpe.
"(Sharpe) told us that our mistakes, we're going to make them and we can bounce back and learn from them and play even better after," sophomore Diana Wells said.
Wells added six kills for the Mavericks.
McMillian was pivotal as Germantown cruised to an eight-point victory in the second set and helped the Mavericks get over the hump after the score was tied 24-24 in the third set. McMillian was determined not to let the team give up in the third set.
"We don't give up," McMillian said. "Even if we're down we always find a way to bring ourselves back up and help each other."
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The Mavericks will face Brandon (43-7) on Thursday at Mississippi State for the state championship after finishing 25-10 and advancing to the second round of the playoffs last season.
The Bulldogs defeated Germantown four times in the regular season and are searching for their fourth championship since 2017. However, Sharpe was excited at the prospect of facing Brandon again.
"We're playing awesome," Sharpe said. "I don't care who we're going to play. We're going to go out and do our best. I know from my heart that these girls are ready. They're hungry and we're just going do our best."
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: MHSAA volleyball: Germantown reaches first state title game since 2015
