The No. 2 Lady Crusaders sought the holy grail continuing the journey for the Class A state volleyball crown denying the No. 7 Lady Cougars passage in the quarterfinals in straight sets last Friday in Charleston: 25-17, 29-27, 25-17.
Parkersburg Catholic’s quest was cut short in the semifinals by Paden City, then Wirt County won its 12th Class A state championship in program history which is the most by any team in the Mountain State.
East Hardy kept pace with the Lady Crusaders and battled ferociously in the second set nearly snatching the win as an equalizer, but Parkersburg Catholic arose to the challenge.
“It is very special and it’s the state tournament and it’s exciting. We’re very fortunate and the girls worked very hard all year. If they continue to work hard, then they will be hard to beat,” Parkersburg Catholic coach Amanda Weatherwax commented.
“The keys were just staying focused on the block and making sure we’re staying deep and finding open shots. They didn’t have the same open shots as other teams we played, so we had to adjust on ball placement and staying aggressive and staying together. In game one, it seemed they were cleaning everything up. We had to start redirecting and mixing up placements. We had to change up our speed. This our second time here since I have been coaching for here.”
The Lady Cougars took an early 3-1 lead in the opening set of the quarterfinal before Parkersburg Catholic rattled off six straight points and East Hardy didn’t fold battling back to tie the set at 10-all.
Erin Riggle notched the first point for the Lady Cougars with a kill, then Jaden Fleshman made a dig before Parkersburg Catholic’s Aaliyah Brunny evened the set on an attack.
After a service error by the Lady Crusaders, East Hardy’s Victoria Ames delivered an ace for the 3-1 edge before Parkersburg Catholic’s Jenna Boice had an attack ricochet off the Lady Cougars out of [private]play.
The Lady Crusaders earned a point off an attack by Elaina Ross and Gracie Lowers served two aces plus a service point coming from a carrying violation provided a 6-3 lead.
A block by Parkersburg Catholic’s Leslie Huffman was initially saved by East Hardy’s Perry Whetzel before landing back into the net.
Fleshman garnered a kill, then an attack by Ross was returned into the net, 8-4.
Ames had a dig sail over the net and the Lady Crusaders returned with a spike by Ross before the Lady Cougars responded with another kill from Fleshman sparking a rally as Perry Whetzel served and there was a carrying violation by Parkersburg Catholic.
East Hardy’s SierraMarie Miller created a spike, then an attack by the Lady Crusaders went awry and Whetzel landed an ace to tie the set, 9-all.
An attack by Ross was redirected into the net, then East Hardy’s Rebecca Whetzel notched a spike,
After a service error, Miller and Riggle made kills for the Lady Cougars taking a 12-11 lead.
An attack by Boice was deflected out on a dig by Perry Whetzel, then Parkersburg Catholic’s Aaliyah Brunny earned points on an attack and two blocks for a 15-12 lead.
A block by Brunny on an attack from Riggle sailed out of bounds, then Brunny notched a kill and Elizabeth Lowther gained a point deflecting the ball off the Lady Cougars, 17-13.
The Lady Crusaders hit the ball out of bounds, then Ames served and the ball was returned for a kill by Brunny.
Lowers served an ace, then an attack by Fleshman was returned out of play.
Fleshman blocked a shot from Lowther just outside of the boundary line, then Paige Scotts served an ace for Parkersburg Catholic.
Huffman recorded a block, then Ames made a dig and Riggle had a save before Ross slammed the ball to go up 23-15.
Both teams made errors on volleys, then an attack by Rebecca Whetzel was returned into the net.
During the serve from Fleshman, Miller launched the ball out of bounds giving the Lady Crusaders the set point 25-17.
“That was a really good team and they didn’t have a weak rotation. We got in there and Rebecca Whetzel did a tremendous job serving to get us a lead. We played even with them for the next five serves, then Rebecca went back in there and got on another little roll. They called timeout and we had a chance to win it, but sent the ball into the net and without her first ten serves we don’t even get there,” East Hardy assistant coach Chris Hahn remarked.
“We were definitely playing defense there. We didn’t do a very good job passing. I think our inexperience on the big stage down here contributed a little bit to that outcome. I give Parkersburg Catholic credit, they are No. 2 for a reason. That was a really good volleyball team and the pace of their offense was really good. They came with the quicks and the slides. We took one on the chin and that second set I thought we were going to get one back over the top, but a couple of their best players made some key plays. It took the wind out of our sails and that third set, we just couldn’t ever turn our offense on with their hard serves. We couldn’t get our passes to where they needed to be. They had four or five hitters out there, hitting on a pretty good pace. We just didn’t have enough. We play a pretty challenging schedule. We come here and we usually don’t have the best record when we get here, but it is because we play a very challenging schedule. You can’t pencil in very many wins at the beginning of the year. We work hard for everything we get. We played very talented teams throughout the year and saw another one here. When you are a No. 7 seed, you hope you can knock off a No. 2, but they were better than us today.”
Parkersburg Catholic jumped out to a 5-nil lead in the second set as Brunny made two blocks and the Lady Cougars had three errors on volleys.
Riggle created a spike for East Hardy to make it 5-1, then an attack by Brunny was returned out by Emily Dyer.
Dyer and Perry Whetzel joined together to bump the ball over the net and it landed for a kill, then Ames had a serve returned into the net, 6-3.
After a point from Ross, Riggle made a block and served an ace to help the Lady Cougars cut the deficit to 7-5.
“We never turned our offense on in three sets,” East Hardy coach Marsha Hahn added.
East Hardy’s Emily Yates made a kill after a service error, then served and the ball was returned by Parkersburg Catholic’s Madison Ross for a kill.
Brunny blocked an attack by Miller, then Rebecca Whetzel launched an attack and it was returned out of play, 10-7.
East Hardy rallied as Rebecca Whetzel made a dink for a kill and served up three aces to tie the set at 12-all.
Yates and Fleshman sandwiched kills around a point by Elaina Ross before Riggle served an ace and made a dig setting up Miller for a spike to put the Lady Cougars up 17-15.
After a volley went awry for the Lady Crusaders, Madison Ross blocked a shot by Miller.
Parkersburg Catholic took a 22-20 lead on two aces by Emily Pedersen, then the Lady Cougars responded with a block by Miller and an attack by Rebecca Whetzel deflected back into the net to knot up the set.
The Lady Crusaders recovered from a block by Riggle, then Brunny blocked Riggle and Paige Stotts notched a point off an attack to go back up 24-22.
Dyer made a dig off a serve for the Lady Cougars and Miller set Riggle for a spike, then Whetzel’s serve was returned out of bounds for a 24-all score.
A volley by Parkersburg Catholic went out of bounds, then Whetzel’s set point serve went into the net.
Riggle found an opening for a kill to put the Lady Cougars ahead again 26-25.
There were great volleys at the net with Yates making some saves and Perry Whetzel recording digs for East Hardy, but Stotts earned a point on an attack to tie the set.
Fleshman countered with a spike, but the Lady Cougars couldn’t close the set as the next volley went into the net.
Parkersburg Catholic closed out the second set with two attack point by Elaina Ross for a 29-27 win.
This intense set took a toll as far as energy and mental strength for the Lady Cougars fighting into the third set.
East Hardy opened the third set with a serve by Rebecca Whetzel which was returned out of bounds, then Brunny made an attack for the Lady Crusaders which was met on a dig by Whetzel and deflected out of bounds.
An ace served by Boice put Parkersburg Catholic ahead briefly at 2-1, then an attack by East Hardy’s Erin Riggle was blocked out.
Ames served and the ball was returned with a spike by Brunny.
Yates set for Miller launching an attack which was returned into the net, then Fleshman had an attack blocked into the net giving East Hardy a 4-3 lead.
Yates and Miller made saves on attacks Ross, then another shot was returned out and Grace Wojcik served up two aces for the Lady Crusaders to take a 6-4 edge.
Freshman and Madison Ross traded spikes, then Perry Whetzel made several digs before an attack by the Lady Cougars went out.
A kill by Elaina Ross and a serve returned out of bounds put Parkersburg Catholic up 12-6 in the third set before the ensuing serve sailed out of bounds.
Miller’s serve was returned out of play, then Brunnyn had a push ricochet off the top of the net and land on the floor for a point.
Riggle made a kill off a set from Dyer, then Rebecca Whetzel notched a service point for the Lady Cougars trailing 13-10.
After spike by Brunnny, East Hardy garnered a point on an attack by Yates returned into the net and a serve by Ames was volleyed back out of play, 15-12.
Brunny and Elaina Ross recorded kills and a dig by Ames went to Fleshman, then Ross hit a shot to Ames again and the ball deflected out, 18-12.
Wojcik served an ace and another out of play for the Lady Crusaders building a 21-14 lead.
East Hardy’s Perry Whetzel delivered an ace, but the next serve went awry.
The Lady Crusaders served out before Ross created a spike and the following serve landed in the net for a 23-17 score.
Brunny notched a kill and blocked Riggle’s volley to give Parkersburg Catholic a 25-17 third set and match victory as the Lady Cougars were sent home from the state tournament journey empty handed.
“In the end, somebody’s going to win and somebody’s going to lose,” East Hardy coach Marsha Hahn concluded.[/private]