By Shannon J. Allen/Sand Mountain Reporter
It’s not every day that teens get to see their dreams come true, but Macy Bridges did so on Dec. 5.
That’s when the Sardis High School senior signed to play volleyball for Snead State Community College.
Bridges earned Class 4A, All-Area 12 honors during the 2013 season after helping the Lady Lions win more than 30 matches, including the championship of the Brindlee Mountain Tournament.
The 5-foot-9 Bridges also plays basketball and runs cross country for Sardis, but volleyball is her favorite sport.
“I’ve played volleyball ever since my seventh-grade year, and I’ve enjoyed it ever since,” she said.
Bridges played middle blocker as a junior but Sardis head coach Scott Sandlin moved her to outside hitter as a senior, a position where she thrived.
Snead State head coach Dee Ayres started recruiting Bridges after conducting a camp for the Sardis program last summer.
“I had thought about (going to) Gadsden State, but then once I got to know Coach Ayres, I really liked her better,” said Bridges, who played club ball with Gadsden Volleyball Club.
Ayres signed Bridges to play outside hitter.
“I had an opportunity to work with Macy and really get to know her at a camp this summer, and I’m really excited she’s going to be a Parson,” Ayres said. “I think Macy is really going to help us on the outside. I think she’ll be a good blocker and she swings hard. She transitions very fast off the net, which is really good for defense, and we need a lot of that.”
Bridges’ goal is to contribute for Snead State as a freshman, and Ayres believes Bridges can make an impact. Ayers likes the fact Bridges is “very coachable.”
“I’m definitely looking for kids who will come in and be impact players,” Ayres said.
“We lost a lot of sophomores this year, so we have a lot of holes to fill to be able to field a successful team. I expect us to do well because we finished pretty strong this past year, and I want to improve on that.”
Snead State went 16-19 and finished third in the 2013 Alabama Community College Conference state tournament.