Early in Tuesday’s match against Lakeside School, Morgan Academy faced a pivotal moment. The Senators had led the first set by as many as ten points, but had squandered that lead.

The first game was tied at 27 and hung in the balance.

“Finish them, finish them,” chanted the Morgan Academy crowd, which was mostly made up of students, who were attending their first in-school volleyball game of the year.

McKenzie Williams did just that, rising high for a kill at the net that gave Morgan a 29-27 first set victory.  The Senators rode the momentum from the first set to take the next two sets 25-13 and 25-25 and earned a spot in the Alabama Independent School Association state tournament.

“I got everyone in the middle, and I said ‘this is our game, this is our gym and this will be our last game in this gym and I want to come out with a win knowing that we gave it all that we had,’” Williams said.

The Senators couldn’t have asked for a much better start.

With the student body cheering loudly during every play, Morgan led 6-0 to seize control of the opening set. Before the match, Morgan Academy coach Kayla Mason said she told her team to focus on volleyball and not on their peers in the crowd.

“I know they had fun but they’ve never had that this year,” Mason said. “They’ve never had this many people in a gym cheering for them, being loud.”

The Senators led 18-8 at one point, only to watch Lakeside come back to even the score at 24 apiece. The Chiefs even had a set point opportunity, but Sloane Seaborn’s serve went into the net.

After Williams’ kill gave Morgan the first set, the Senators again jumped out to a big lead in set two. Morgan led 5-0 early and the Senators were never challenged. The Senators took a 17-7 lead and led by nine or more the remainder of the set.

The third and final set was more competitive, but Morgan took a 5-0 lead early and led the entire way. Now, Morgan’s focus shifts to the rest of the class AA region tournament at Northside Methodist Academy, which continues on Thursday. That tournament will be only for seeding purposes, meaning the Senators are in the state tournament regardless.

“If they play the game that I know they can play, I believe they will go far,” Mason said.

Williams, who led the team with 17 kills, said she will be playing in the state tournament for the first time.

“I cannot be happier. I’ve dreamed about this since June 14,” Williams said, referring to the first day of volleyball practice.