Gallery by Tina Laney
CHARMCO – Greenbrier West and James Monroe appear to be on a collision course for the Region 3 volleyball championship match.
Saturday afternoon the Cavaliers and the Mavericks added a little more fuel to that fire at the Class A Coalfield Conference Tournament played in Charmco.
After going through pool play undefeated, the home team was forced to battle back from a 1-0 deficit to beat James Monroe 2-1 (20-25, 25-23,25-16) in the best-of-three championship match.
“I don’t know what it is with this group. I think they get too relaxed at times and it’s hard to keep them focused on finishing it out. They let the other team come back and get the momentum,” Greenbrier West head coach Cindy Nutter said. “However, they are the most motivated group I have seen. They don’t let the little things get to them and they know they have to win as a group.”
Trailing 9-8 in the opening set, Greenbrier West ran off five straight points keyed by a pair of kills from Kadie O’Dell and one from Meagan Poticher.
James Monroe answered to tie the set at 18 apiece before a blast from Preslee Treadway put West back in front, temporarily.
A serving error followed by big block from Aliyah Clarkson and kill from Maggie Boroski turned the momentum to the Mavs.
A tip from O’Dell stemmed the tide, but the visitors already had control of the set.
A kill and a block from Ava Pitzer, along with an ace from Clarkson and a tip from Boroski gave James Monroe the 25-20 win.
The ladies from Monroe County trailed early in the second set, 3-1, before ripping off eight straight points and looked well on their way to the championship title.
Four aces from Boroski and kills from Paige Amos and Clarkson were all part of outburst that pushed the lead to 9-3.
The lead went to seven twice before Greenbrier West started chipping away.
Three kills from Poticher, who had five in the set, and one from Treadway sparked a 6-1 run to put West back in striking distance.
Already a force at the net, Poticher’s improved hitting skills this season have kept teams honest on West’s big bombers on the outside.
“Meagan was really good today. If we don’t have somebody hitting in the middle, their blockers are just going to set-up on our outside hitters. I told them to feed her the ball,” Nutter said. “She is learning how to get on top of the ball and she knows she can’t hit it straight. She is moving it left and right. For her to do both blocking and hitting, while being very consistent at both is great.”
A kill from Boroski did not seem to phase the Cavaliers who used another burst to take control of the set, and ultimately the match going forward.
“The momentum flipped on us. I think it comes from our youth and not wanting to make mistakes,” James Monroe head coach Julie Bradley said. “We did make some adjustments and came back and won that first (set). We had the energy and we were excited, but when we made those errors, we just kind of froze up some.”
Treadway started the run with a blast prior to a return from sophomore Abigail Thomas that found the open floor for a point. An ace from Poticher preceded kills from Treadway and Thomas for a 19-16 advantage.
Although the Mavs were down, they were not out just yet. Two winners from Clarkson, an ace from Sadie Mann and a kill from Pitzer put James Monroe back on top.
Sitting two points away from dropping the match, West fired back with four straight points to take a wild 25-23 win.
Tips from Riley Robertson and Poticher and a set winning blast from O’Dell sent the match to a third and final set.
James Monroe kept the final set close early, but unforced errors and a barrage of kills from the Cavaliers were too much to overcome in a 25-16 loss.
For a team that had not made many errors in the first two sets, the Mavs made seven attacking errors and a serving error while falling behind 17-8.
The Mavs were able to cut the lead back to four points at 20-16 before a huge block by Thomas in the middle and a kill by the sophomore keyed a 5-0 run to seal the match.
“Abigail made some huge plays for us. She plays some JV, but it has been between her and one of my other middles all year. When one struggles, the other steps in,” Nutter said. “Today, Abigail stepped up to the challenge. She doesn’t let much get to her. She has been doing this all season long.”
Saturday’s match was a tough one to swallow for the Mavericks.
“These are some tough learning lessons. You have to take your lumps and learn from them,” Bradley said. “They are starting to see that they can do it. It will just be a matter of whether we can get over that hump.”
The two teams will see each other a few more times before the postseason, which Nutter sees as crucial meetings.
“We will see them again next Thursday, but this is a momentum builder for sure. Looking down the road, we can’t allow them to gain confidence that they can beat us,” Nutter said. “They beat us the first (match) of the year, but when we faced them at Summers County, we beat them and we beat them today. We don’t want to lose our edge going into regionals.”
Pool Play records Saturday
Greenbrier West, 5-0
James Monroe 4-1
Summers County 3-2
Meadow Bridge 2-3
Midland Trail 1-4
Richwood 0-5
Championship Match
Greenbrier West d. James Monroe, 2-1
