Fletcher volleyball wins sixth consecutive Gateway Conference championship
Clayton Freeman
The last time Fletcher didn't win the Gateway Conference championship, Alexandra Hennessey was still in elementary school.
The Senators' junior outside hitter made sure that didn't change in 2020.
"It's just insane that we've gotten six [in a row]," she said.
Fletcher maintained its stranglehold on the top spot in Duval County public school competition, defeating Mandarin 25-21, 25-23, 25-18 in Thursday night's Gateway Conference volleyball championship.
The Senators — unbeaten in Gateway tournament action since head coach Mark McGiveron took over in 2015 — last lost in the event in 2014 to Stanton.
Whenever the Senators (16-2) needed her, Hennessey came through again and again, blasting a team-high 15 kills and five aces.
But the Mustangs (8-9), in typically tough fashion, didn't make it easy for Fletcher.
Mandarin seized four-point leads midway through the first and second sets, keeping the Senators off balance with well-aimed and deceptive serves from Taylor Boyd, Ellie Jackson and Kylie Spraggins.
"The first set, Mandarin had us pinned down, and I thought for sure, 'OK, this is going to go at least four sets,'" McGiveron said.
Each time, though, the Senators swung the momentum later in the set — a 9-1 run in the first, a couple of key Hennessey kills at the end of the second and a sharp serve from Azra Mulalic that helped wrap up the third.
"Kudos to our servers for serving tough to a great team," McGiveron said.
Setter Mulalic, closing in on 2,500 assists for her Fletcher career, provided 36 assists, to go with 20 digs from Trinity Carson and 10 kills from Bella Phillips.
Alani Salas-Garcia led the Mustangs with 10 kills and 13 digs, along with 15 assists from Mia Watson and six aces from Jackson.
"We really talked as a team and communicated a lot more than usual, and just closed it out instead of letting them come back," Hennessey said. "We definitely picked it up and finished quick."