CHAPMANVILLE- Chapmanville Regional High School won a five-match thriller against county rival Man on Tuesday, rallying from a set down to win on senior night at Chapmanville.
The Tigers won the first set, 25-22, but the Hillbillies won the next two sets, 25-23 and 25-22, before the Tigers won the fourth set, 25-19, to force a decisive fifth set that the Tigers won 19-17.
The fifth set featured six ties and three lead changes as Man jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead before Chapmanville rallied with five straight points prompting a Hillbilly timeout from coach Orlando Washington.
Man reeled off four-of-the-next-five points to tie the contest at 7-7 before Chapmanville surged ahead 13-9 and appeared to be heading for victory. But once more the Hillbillies rallied to knot the contest at 13-13.
From there the two schools exchanged points as Man continued to gain momentum and held a brief 16-15 lead and was serving for the match.
The Tigers had one last rally in them and fought off match to tie the contest at 16-16 before scoring three of the next four points for a 19-17 victory.
“One thing about our girls is that they don’t quit,” Chapmanville coach Paula Thomas said. “Man is always tough; they are a competitive team and that is why we love to play them.”
Man coach Orlando Washington said his team had their chances, but just couldn’t make that one last play to get the win.
“It was back and forth all five sets,” Washington said. “They just made one more play than we did in that fifth and decisive set.”
After three ties and one lead change to start the first set, Chapmanville reeled off eight of the games next 10 points to take a commanding 11-5 first set advantage. Man would cut the deficit to one, 16-15, but could get no closer as Chapmanville held on for a 25-22 first set victory.
The second set was a back-and-forth match featuring 12 ties and three lead changes. Trailing 13-9 the Hillbillies reeled off four straight points to knot the contest for a fifth time at 13-13.
Man led 15-14 as the two schools exchanged points and the lead until Man broke a 20-20 tie with three consecutive points to take a 23-20 lead. The Tigers rallied to tie the contest at 23-23, but Man closed out the second set with two straight points for a 25-23 win.
With the match squared at one game each, Man took control in the third set jumping out to a 10-1 lead. The Tigers did manage to close to with one point, 17-16, but Man was able to hold on for a 25-22 victory.
Man was just one match away from victory, but Chapmanville had other plans.
“With us its always our confidence,” Washington said. “If they keep their confidence and keep their composure then good things have happened for us, but when we don’t do that then we have had bad things happen.”
After rallying from an early 4-2 deficit, the Tigers established momentum with a 15-5 run to take a 17-9 lead. Man rallied with five straight points to trim the deficit to 17-14, but the Tigers reeled off six-of-the-next-seven points to take a commanding 23-15 lead on their way to a 25-19 win.
Chapmanville improved to 8-14 with the win and will start sectional tournament play Saturday morning at Scott High School against county rival Logan at 9 a.m. with the winner facing Wayne at 1 p.m.
“It’s been a rocky season,” Thomas said. “We have been quarantined for a couple of weeks and it’s been tough to get any continuity.”
“We needed this win heading into the sectionals,” Thomas said. “We hope that momentum carries over into sectionals and we have a good match early.”
Man falls to 4-25 and will begin sectional play Monday at Tolsia High School against an opponent yet to be determined.
“If we are up we will be competitive, but if we are not up then we won’t be competitive,” Washington said. “It’s a tale of two teams, and I just hope come Monday that we are up more than we are down.”
