Although the season is barely a week old, volleyball titans Shady Spring and George Washington had already met twice heading into the annual Shirley Brown Invitational at Woodrow Wilson High School.
When the championship match rolled around Saturday evening, it was showdown number three between the Tigers and the Patriots.
After the first match of the season went to GW and Shady evened the score this past Thursday, the Tigers made it two wins in a row over the Patriots, sweeping the title match 2-0 (25-16, 25-23).
“There was a lot of teamwork out there. It took all of them. It took all the girls on the floor. It took the girls on the bench. It was a total team effort,” first year Shady Spring head coach Brantlea Wood said.
While nothing came easy per se for the Tigers, the only hiccup of the day was in the opening round of pool play where Shady met county rival Beckley to start the tournament.
The Flying Eagles came out hot sparked by Salia Harris who had six kills to lead Beckley to a 25-17 win.
However, in set two Shady Spring started to find the mark from all over the floor. Whether it was the Mann to Mann offense (sisters Rachel and Reagan combining for sets and kills) or bombs from Alivia Stover, or the steady play of seniors Camille Testerman and Haley Sweeney, the Tigers had defenders scurrying in all directions.
“We all have to work together, not just one, two or three people, but all six, seven or however many we use,” Wood said. “We want to spread it out and have everybody swinging. Everybody swinging and everybody working together. What we have talked about is making sure that everybody is involved. That is what keeps teams off balance.”
Following the split with Beckley, Shady Spring did not drop another set the rest of the day. In the remaining two matches of pool play, the Tigers topped Capital and Cabell Midland.
When tournament play rolled around, Shady eliminated Capital in the quarterfinal round, setting up a rematch with the Flying Eagles.
Beckley defeated Huntington in its quarterfinal matchup, but had to go three grueling sets with the Highlanders for the win (25-21, 21-25, 15-13). The Flying Eagles battled back from a six-point deficit in set three to earn the win.
Shady took the early 5-0 lead in set one before Beckley stormed back to lead 13-8. With her team trailing late 24-21, Testerman steadied the ship with a block and back-to-back aces. The Tigers would take the set on an ace from Sweeney for a 28-26 victory.
“Camille and Haley are the balance for us. We have a good mix and they all balance each other out,” Wood said. “The two seniors just have a presence about them on the floor. You can’t beat that.”
Shady moved into the championship match with a 25-18 win in set two.
George Washington advanced to the title showdown without dropping a set during the tournament. The Patriots beat PikeView to open the day before besting Spring Valley and Huntington in pool play.
Earning the top seed for the single elimination tournament, GW beat PikeView in the quarterfinal round before falling behind in the first set to Spring Valley.
Head coach Missy Smith’s crew was down, but it was not out. The Patriots roared back to take a 27-25 win over the Timberwolves before closing them out 25-10 in the second set.
In set one of the championship match, the Tigers never trailed. A kill from freshman Allie Fragile and an ace from Sweeney gave Shady its biggest margin at 10 points midway through the set that turned into a 25-16 win.
Set two belonged to the Patriots early, but Shady fought back to even the match at 17-apiece before separating itself.
A kill from Rachel Mann, two attacking errors and back-to-back kills from Alivia Stover gave Shady the momentum it needed for a 25-23 win.
Along with the solid play that Shady received Saturday from its core veterans, the Tigers also had strong play from its youngest varsity players.
“I think our young ones that stepped in handled the pressure well. This was a big win for us,” Wood said. “We had a couple of rough games and a slow start this morning, so it was nice to this (championship) team show up.”
While the Patriots did not win the title, Smith was pleased with her team’s play overall.
“There were several good teams here today and to be in the finals of this tournament is a good showing for us,” Smith said. “We did have a good day. It is early in the season, but we have struggled with consistency, so I was pretty happy with how we played,”
“Even in the match against Shady, I wasn’t so happy in the first set, but in the second set, we were in it and didn’t quit even when we were down,” Smith continued. “That speaks volumes to the attitudes that we have.”
Playing without one of its top hitters who will return in the next week or so, Beckley head coach Bre Rhodes also found plenty of positives on the day for her team.
“We definitely use this tournament in a trial and error frame of mind. We hope that we win in the end, but today I changed the line-up mid-day,” Rhodes said. “I like having this tournament early in the year. There was great competition today. Pool play games were tight and tournament games were tight. It was not a bad day.”
Shirley Brown Invitational
Pool Play Results
Shady Spring vs. Beckley, 1-1
George Washington d. PikeView, 2-0
Spring Valley vs. Huntington, 1-1
Cabell Midland d. Capital 2-0
George Washington d. Spring Valley, 2-0
Beckley vs. Cabell Midland, 1-1
Huntington d. PikeView, 2-0
Shady Spring d. Capital, 2-0
Spring Valley d. PikeView, 2-0
Shady Spring d. Cabell Midland, 2-0
George Washington d. Huntington, 2-0
Beckley d. Capital, 2-0
Single Elimination Tournament Play
Shady d. Capital, 25-11, 25-13
George Washington d. PikeView, 25-17, 25-9
Spring Valley d. Cabell Midland 25-21, 21-25, 15-13
Beckley d. Huntington, 28-26, 23-25, 16-14
Semifinals
Shady Spring d. Beckley 28-26, 25-18.
George Washington d. Spring Valley 27-25, 25-10
Championship
Shady Spring d. George Washington 25-16, 25-23
