Prattville Christian’s Emma Cate Carter was a self-described “non-person,” but she was looking for a teammate or coach to hug after leading her team to the second Blue Map in history.

The top-seeded Panthers made an early punch but couldn’t beat No. 3 Alexandria 3-1 in the 2024 AHSAA Class 4A championship game, 22-25, 25-23, 25-23 and 25-19. Birmingham’s Bill Harris Arena.

“I am incredibly proud of this team,” Prattville Christian coach Kaylon Cantrell said. “This team is special. They have more determination and more grit than any team I’ve ever coached. It’s been amazing to watch them grow this season.”

Prattville Christian (45-14) won its second state title in three seasons after also capturing the 2022 crown.

Emma Cate Carter was named the Class 4A tournament MVP after recording 58 kills and 36 digs during the three-game tournament run.

“As soon as I saw we reached 25, I started crying,” Carter said. “I was bawling my eyes out.”

Prattville Christian dropped the first set but was no worse for wear as it went 0-2 in the semifinal round.

“We love to tackle challenges, we love the challenge,” said Maren Diefenderfer. “It’s important to show that we like to tackle it, and this game showed that.”

The Panthers held firm to close wins in the second and third sets and nearly escaped in the fourth. Alexandria trailed by 9 points, 21-12, but Prattville Christian went on a 6-0 run to force some drama before closing the door on any comeback bid.

Alexandria (43-14) fell short of its fifth title after making its sixth tournament appearance in the last 11 years.

Baylee Rogers and Diefenderfer join Carter on the all-tournament team, along with Alexandria’s Kaden Pritchett, Erin Spradley and Charlee Parris.

Rogers finished with 46 assists and 15 digs, while Diefenderfer finished with 11 kills. Leah Cate Wilson added 12 kills.

For Alexandria, Spradley led the way with 21 kills and 4 digs, while Pritchett had 10 kills. Parris added 17 digs and Sophie Martin produced 37 assists, 9 digs and 3 aces.