Gallery by Heather Belcher
Some of the varsity volleyball faces for Shady Spring were different Saturday inside the Woodrow Wilson gymnasium.
The results however, were the same.
Rolling through the competition, the Tigers took home yet another championship plaque at the Shirley Brown Invitational without dropping a set.
“The girls were strong all day long. I thought it was great in the University match where they were down and fought back. That shows that they have grit,” Shady Spring head coach Kelly Williams said. “I try to teach them to not take anything for granted. We had wonderful team play today. All over we were doing things that we were supposed to do. I think it was a really good team win.”
Hurricane had also won every set Saturday heading into the championship match against Shady.
While the Redskins looked dominate all day, they only led the Tigers briefly in both sets, falling 25-18 and 25-19.
In the first set of the championship match, Shady Spring quickly turned a 13-11 lead into a seven point advantage.
A tip from Camille Testerman was followed by three blocks, two from Meg Williams and one from Chloe Thompson to spread the lead. An attacking error by the Redskins rounded out the run, giving Shady an 18-11 advantage.
Hurricane fought back to within three before Shady pulled away for the win.
“I was proud of how they all communicated and supported each other. I had players hitting from all different directions, passing and digging. It is a testament to their hard work,” Williams said.
The Redskins held a brief 4-3 lead early in the second set, only to see a kill from Thompson, two attacking errors and an ace from Williams give the Tigers the lead for good.
“Everybody made a contribution today and I think that is what a good team does,” Williams said. “No one is selfish and always cheering the other players on.”
Trailing by seven points late in the set, Hurricane rallied to within four on two kills and a block from Reese Parsons who was stellar the entire tournament.
“She is a go-to player for us,” Hurricane head coach Allie Douglas said. “She actually wasn’t feeling well today and we had to sit her in one of the pool play games. She is a fighter and she really showed up at the end. She has a lot of talent.”
A blast by Testerman squelched the comeback before Thompson dropped a rocket of her own. An attacking error and an ace from Rachel Mann pushed the lead to eight points.
Playing in the Shirley Brown Invitational for the first time since 2017, Douglas was all smiles when asked about her team’s effort Saturday.
“We had a really good day today. We have a lot to look forward to this year,” Douglas said. “Last year we went to states and this year we want to show people that we are always going to be state (tournament) contenders. This tournament is good competition and the girls played well all day long.”
Shady’s biggest test of the day came in the opening set of the semifinal round against University.
Although the Tigers never trailed by more than three points, the inspired Hawks answered every Shady run and led 18-15 before the Tigers could finally answer the bell.
“They have a switch and when they fell behind, they all flipped that switch and went to a different level. I wish they would play like that all the time, but it is great to see when they do turn it on,” Williams said.
Shady pulled even at 18 apiece before University took its final lead at 19-18. The Tigers closed the set on an 7-1 run for a 25-20 win. Shady dominated set two, 25-8.
“(Shady) really swings it. They keep you on the defensive and that is what we try to do,” University head coach Don Godfrey said.
With a young team featuring eight sophomores that all play, Saturday’s experience was much to the liking of Godfrey.
“Loved it and loved the competition. Wish we could have seen a little more of the other teams, but we got to play Shady Spring and George Washington which is excellent for us,” Godfrey said. “This is just going to help us in the long run with sectional, region and hopefully what it’s like at the state tournament.”
Woodrow Wilson won two of its three pool play matches and beat Princeton in the opening round of the single elimination portion. Hurricane was the nemesis for the Flying Eagles, beating them in pool play, as well as in the semifinals.
“It was a pretty average day, but I will take it. It definitely showed us some things that we can work on and need to improve on, but I am not mad with the performance. We have room for growth,” Woodrow Wilson head coach Bre Rhodes said. “We have half the team that has not seen a varsity level tournament and a long day like this. It’s definitely eye opening to some of them.”
Princeton will be hosting the Class AAA Region 3, Section 2 volleyball tournament this year. Head coach Ron Moreland is hoping his team will take what it learned Saturday and improve on it for a postseason run.
“The play today showed us some gaps that we have to work on. Thankfully it is early in the season,” Moreland said. “Some of the things that we have been working on looked good, but the gaps we have to work on.”
Class AA schools Independence and PikeView knew they were jumping into the deep end of the pool Saturday with AA powerhouse Shady and five AAA schools.
While neither team won a set Saturday, winning was not the main concern for their respective coaches.
“This team has good leadership, maybe the best I have ever had,” Independence head coach Kevin Bragg said. “Athletically one through six, it is one of the best teams that I have had. Now we don’t have the biggest hitters, but we will get there. The blocks will get better and the hits will get better, but I am happy with the leadership.”
Panthers head coach Steve Compton’s team has also been a frequent visitor to the tournament. Compton likes the early season test for his team.
PikeView was paired with Shady Spring, George Washington and University Saturday.
“Our pool was really tough today. We come up here just for the experience of playing great teams,” Compton said. “This team wants to learn and get better. We have a lot of volleyball to play and I thought they did a great job today. They hung in there and kept playing.”
Shirley Brown Invitational Results
Pool play
Woodrow Wilson d. Independence, 2-0
Shady Spring d. PikeView, 2-0
Hurricane d. Princeton, 2-0
University d. George Washington, 2-0
Shady Spring d. University, 2-0
Hurricane d. Woodrow Wilson, 2-0
George Washington d. PikeView, 2-0
Princeton d. Independence, 2-0
Hurricane d. Independence, 2-0
University d. PikeView, 2-0
Shady Spring d. George Washington, 2-0
Woodrow Wilson d. Princeton, 2-0
Quarterfinals
Shady Spring d. Independence, 2-0
Woodrow Wilson d. Princeton, 2-0
University d. George Washington, 2-0
Hurricane d. PikeView, 2-0
Semifinals
Shady Spring d. University, 2-0
Hurricane d. Woodrow Wilson, 2-0
Championship
Shady Spring d. Hurricane, 2-0