By Joe Medley, East Alabama Sports Today

JACKSONVILLE —  Reigning state champion Cherokee County rallied from a loss to Munford early in Saturday’s CaroStrong Tournament to beat the Lions 26-24, 26–24 in the final at Jacksonville High School.

The CaroStrong Tournament is named for former Jacksonville player Caroline Neisler, who died of leukemia in 2013, after transferring from the University of North Alabama to Samford University.

Cherokee County, which won the Class 4A state title in 2025, went 4-1 in the CaroStrong Tournament, falling 21-25, 21-25 to Munford before reeling off four consecutive victories: Piedmont 25-20, 25-17, White Plains 25-20, 25-21, Sardis 25-13, 25-20 and Munford in the finals.

The Lady Warriors are 6-1 on the season.

“We’re still trying to figure things out,” Cherokee County coach Tiffany Rieger said. “We started off a little rocky, and there were times where we couldn’t get our offense going, but overall, the girls pulled it out.

“We were working just to get better and improve over the day, and I think we did that.”

Cherokee County’s top performers:

— Syndi Frost: 50 assists, two aces, five digs.
— Harleigh Henry: four aces, seven kills, four digs, two blocks.
— Mattie Green: 44 assists, three aces, nine kills, four blocks, six digs.
— Taniya Fife: six aces, five blocks, 17 kills, 20 digs, two assists.
— Ava Haygood: five aces, five assists, 38 kills, 17 digs.
— Jolie Alexander: nine aces, six assists, two blocks, 46 kills, 10 digs.
— Shyann Nicholson: 15 digs.