Lovett Volleyball Wins 2025 GHSA State Championship

The Lovett Varsity Volleyball team won its second state championship in school history last week after defeating Hebron Christian 3-2. The Lions, led by first-year head coach Cheryl Weaver, finished the season with a 42-3 record and ranked 32nd in the country by MaxPreps.

Weaver reflected on the win, saying, “It’s amazing. This is what you aspire to be. It takes years sometimes to get this. The fact we got it my first year, it shows how disciplined the girls are, how hard they wanted to work and how bad they wanted it. It was a great foundation of girls to work with.” 

The foundation Coach Weaver mentioned shone throughout the state championship match, as captains Sloan ‘26 and Katy ‘26 led the team with six blocks each. Ali ‘26 led the team in assists with 31, while Margaux ‘27 ranked top three on the team for assists with nine, digs with 14, and receptions with 24. 

Weaver talked about the leadership on the team, saying, “As a team, holding each other accountable. A lot of times, when you are this age, you don’t want to hurt feelings. You say you want to do things, but you don’t want to do the hard things that are required to be a leader. Our leaders stepped up to talk to their teammates and hold them and each other accountable.”

Sloan ‘26, who finished the state championship with 13 kills and 29 receptions, said after the match, “We have team meetings before most practices. We also have partners on the team, and we talk before practice about what we want to focus on and what goals we have for each practice. I think that plays a huge role in how focused we are in practice, and it showed today by how we pushed back after we lost that second set.”

The showdown between Lovett and Hebron Christian carried extra intensity, serving as a rematch of last year’s GHSA Private State Semifinal. In that 2024 meeting, Hebron Christian prevailed 3–1 before going on to capture the state title with another 3–1 win over Mt. Pisgah.

After the championship, Katy ‘26 talked about what made this team different from previous seasons, saying, “It’s very different dynamics this season. The seniors came in with one goal in common, which was to win state. For so many years, we have made it deep in the state and lost. This year, we had a combination of knowing what to do and the ability to step up as leaders.”

Kari ‘29 earned numerous individual awards for her role in the Lions’ state championship. She was named the No. 1 player in Volleyball Adrenaline’s America’s 200 for 2025, the AVCA Southwest Region Player of the Year, the GHSA 2A State Player of the Year, and a member of the All-State team. Kari also led the state among all classifications with 631 kills for the season, 76 more than the next highest player.

When asked about how it felt to be a state champion, Kari put the focus on the effort of the team, saying, “Our team did great. We worked so hard for this. We did a great job putting in the effort, and all of our hard work has paid off.”

After a stellar season, many Lions received individual honors for their impact on the team’s success. Sloan ‘26 and Margaux ‘27 were named to the AVCA All-Region team. Sloan and Margaux were also named to the GVCA 2A All-State team. Sloan and Carson ‘26 were recognized as members of the Senior All-Stars for the upcoming Senior All-Star game.