Bridgeport – Shady Spring battled its way to the championship match of the Bridgeport Invitational Saturday before dropping a tight contest with the home-standing Indians, 2-1 (25-9, 11-25, 15-10).
The Tigers were 4-2 in pool play beating Washington (25-14, 25-12) and Independence (25-10, 25-13) 2-0, losing only to Bridgeport (21-25, 11-25).
Seeded No. 6 in the Gold Bracket, the Tigers cruised past Martinsburg in the quarterfinals 2-0 (25-15, 25-22) before knocking off Woodrow Wilson in a tight three-set match, 2-1 (25-20, 24-26, 15-11).
Junior Reagan Mann filled up the state sheet for the Tigers with 36 kills, 6 aces, 46 digs, 61 assists and 27 receptions. Fellow junior Alivia Stover also had 36 kills, along with five aces and 10 total blocks.
Senior Rachel Mann added 31 kills, four aces, 24 digs and 44 assists, while sophomore Allie Fragile dropped 22 winners as well as serving eight aces and recording five blocks.
Baylee Richmond served six aces to go along with 31 digs and 37 receptions. Kenidi Creager had 37 digs and 46 receptions. Jenna Joyce finished the day with 30 digs and 28 receptions.
Woodrow Wilson and Greenbrier East both had solid tournament runs going 5-1 in pool play and advancing to the semifinals of the Gold Bracket before bowing out.
The Flying Eagles beat Robert C. Byrd 2-0 (25-9, 25-13) and Williamstown 2-0 (25-13, 25-8) in pool play, earning a split with defending AA state champion Oak Glen (25-16, 13-25).
Woodrow Wilson garnered the No. 2 seed and knocked off Williamstown in the quarterfinals. No stats were available for Woodrow Wilson at the time of publication.
Greenbrier East split with Martinsburg (25-23, 19-25) and earned 2-0 wins over Moorefield (25-17, 25-21) and Wayne (25-17, 25-18) in pool play.
The Spartans were the No. 4 seed in the Gold Bracket and knocked off Oak Glen 2-1 (25-20, 15-25, 15-12) to advance to the semis, falling to eventual champion Bridgeport 2-0 (12-25, 24-26).
Mollie Pack and Alexis Stack both shined Saturday for Greenbrier East. Pack recorded 15 aces, 44 kills, 22 receptions and 28 digs. Stack blasted 47 winners, along with 48 receptions and 33 digs.
Hailey Ervin had 56 receptions and 44 digs for the Spartans, while Mackenna McClure had 89 assists and 26 digs. Regan Rink served nine aces, as well as recording 16 kills and five blocks. Reagan Cline finished the tournament with 43 receptions and 26 digs.
Independence finished the tournament as the runner up in the Silver Bracket falling in a three-set nail-biter to Washington 2-1 (25-22, 27-29, 16-18). Indy advanced to the finals with a 2-0 (25-16, 25-20) win over Robert C. Byrd.
The Patriots split with Washington in pool play (25-21, 23-25), but dropped both sets to Bridgeport (10-25, 13-25) and Shady Spring.
Senior Aubree Cantrell had 26 kills and eight blocks and Makensie Denny had 26 assists and four aces. Maci Perry served eight aces, while Graci Perry had 10 kills and Rowan Steele had 24 assists.
