Gallery by Tina Laney
Charleston – James Monroe and Wyoming East walked inside the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center Tuesday morning hoping to win their way into the Class AA state championship match Thursday.
The day did not go as planned for either team.
The Mavericks fell in a hard fought battle, while the Warriors fell to longtime Class AA powerhouse Philip Barbour.
James Monroe was the No. 4 seed and opened the morning session against No. 5 Buffalo and as expected, the back-and-forth battle needed all five sets to determine a winner.
Unfortunately for the Mavericks, in a match highlighted by exciting back and forth action, momentum was not always their friend Tuesday and took an ugly turn at the worst times.
The Monroe County girls grabbed the early momentum in the opening set running off nine straight points to take a 17-7 lead.
Buffalo worked its way back within three points at 19-16 before the Mavs took control once again.
Mya Dunlap dropped a winner from the middle which was followed by a kill from Maggie Boroski. An attacking error by the Bison and an ace from Ava Pitzer pushed the lead to seven in a 25-19 win.
James Monroe carried the momentum into set two, taking a 17-11 lead before the Buffalo turned the tables.
Two kills from junior outside hitter Jocie Harris and an ace from Zoey Hoffman keyed a 7-1 run to tie the set.
James Monroe steadied the ship with three blasts from Pitzer and an ace from Hannah Rhodes, but Buffalo refused to be denied.
Trailing 23-21, the Bison scored three straight points which included kills from Mackenzie Ross and Makenlee Null before James Monroe answered back.
A kill and an ace from Pitzer gave the Mavs a set point opportunity, but they could not close out the critical set.
A winner from Harris and back-to-back attacking errors from the Mavericks gave Buffalo a crucial 27-25 win.
“I thought we had some big hitters up at the net that made a huge difference. We wanted to move the ball around on the front row and try to take away their confidence,” assistant coach Janessa Harris said. “We didn’t want them to get easy balls and we wanted to earn every single point. We didn’t want to depend on their mistakes. We wanted to earn every point. We came out very strong today.”
Decisive runs were the key for the Bison all morning and set three had a huge outburst.
Trailing 14-12, Buffalo tallied 13 straight points to cruise past James Monroe 25-14. A kill and six aces from Natalie Baisden set the wheels in motion, which were accelerated by four kills from Harris.
“We tell our girls, If we can keep the ball in our possession serving, we are fine,” Janessa Harris said. “It takes some pressure off of the girls in the (serve) receiving. As long as we out hustle and out serve them we are fine.”
Serve receive was a thorn in the Mavericks side, especially during the periods of struggle.
“It changed the flow and was not quite what we expected because we had been working on first ball kill serve receive. We just got a little flustered there,” James Monroe head coach Julie Bradley said.
The fourth set was another grinder with James Monroe leading most of the way, but once again the Mavs had to fend off a comeback bid from Buffalo.
Leading 21-14, James Monroe watched Buffalo pull within two points at 22-20 on back-to-back kills from Harris.
Pitzer and Mya Dunlap squelched the Bison fire with consecutive kills and Boroski sent the match to a fourth set with a blast from the back row.
The final set, however, was an unfortunate microcosm of the tough day for James Monroe.
Leading 10-6 in the decisive set, James Monroe could not break a 9-0 run by the Bison who rallied to win the match 15-10.
“We have a little bit of grit,” assistant head coach Jeanette Harris said. “We dug down and played hard. They had a goal in their mind and they accomplished it.”
“It was disappointing today for sure, but you are in the state championship and its (number) four and (number) five, it should be a tough and tight fight to the end,” Bradley said. “We had good runs and they had good runs. It just wasn’t running for us at the end.”
Wyoming East was making its first state tournament appearance in school history. If the Warriors were supposed to have been intimidated by the bright lights, then they did not get that memo.
Wyoming East hit the court running.
A pair of aces from Lauren Staton, two kills from Carli Raye and one from Amanda Silva sparked an 8-1 run for Wyoming East to start the match.
While the Warriors stood toe-to-toe with the Colts, the massive power up front from Philip Barbour eventually took its toll.
After scratching back within one point at 15-14, the Colts ran off five straight behind three kills from Izzy Knotts and a pair of aces from Finley Carpenter.
Three kills from Mackenna Halfin and two from Avery McDaniel sealed the deal in a 25-21 win.
“I am thrilled. I don’t have any complaints,” Wyoming East head coach Tabitha Lusk said. “That last set was a little rocky. They were definitely feeling the pressure. Overall, I’m happy with the way they played. They came out and played. They came out and fought.”
Set two was even at 13-apiece before Halfin and McDaniel keyed a 9-0 run to put the set out of reach in a 25-14 win.
“Hopefully we got all of the jitters out of the way. I think it was like when you go to a tournament on a Saturday morning and it takes you some time to warm up. It took us quite a few points,” Philip Barbour head coach Heather Halfin said. “I felt like (Wyoming East) took advantage of the fact that we were off. They were doing a lot of good stuff too and that is what a good team does. I am just glad that we woke up and it didn’t go on any further.
Philip Barbour closed out the match with a 25-11 win in set three to advance to the semifinals.
“Definitely the toughest opponent we have faced this year. We knew that coming in. We did a little research as best as we could,” Lusk said. “I think my girls did a great job trying to put a block up there. My girls are young and we will learn from this. I tell them all of the time, we either win or we learn. Today we were learning. We will take this experience and see what we need to do better.”
Buffalo will now play Class AA defending state champion Oak Glen, while Philip Barbour will face Charleston Catholic in Tuesday’s semifinal battles.
Oak Glen swept South Harrison 3-0 (25-14, 25-10, 25-5), while No. 6-seed Charleston Catholic upset No. 3 Williamstown, 3-2 (19-25, 26-24, 16-25, 25-16, 15-12), in the quarterfinals.
