Gallery by Heather Belcher
Tuesday was far from do or die for the Woodrow Wilson volleyball team.
However, two wins on the first night of Class AAA Region 3, Section 2 tournament play would put the Flying Eagles in an ideal position heading to Thursday’s championship match.
Woodrow Wilson accomplished that task without dropping a set.
After beating Oak Hill 3-0 in the opening match, the Flying Eagles swept its longtime rival Greenbrier East by the same margin.
“These were big wins and anytime you play East its a big win,” Woodrow Wilson head coach Bre Rhodes said. “To win the first meeting with it being double-elimination is crucial.”
East dispatched Princeton 3-0 in its first match and was confident it could derail the Flying Eagles. Unfortunately for the Spartans, they did not match their opponents energy from the opening serve.
Leading 8-7, Woodrow Wilson began to flex its muscle in the middle behind ZaMahya Moss and Olivia Ziolkowski who would frustrate East all night.
A kill from Moss and back-to-back blocks from Ziolkowski preceded an ace from Abby Wooton and Woodrow was off and running.
“Olivia and ZaMahya are especially great with their defense. I see their blocking as both offense and defense,” senior Elysia Salon said. “They help us out so much. We can move around their defense because they are so reliable. When they play well, we all play well and feed off each other.”
While her teammates were blockading the middle, Salon was dropping bombs from all over the floor. In the first set win, the senior hitter nailed seven winners to keep East at bay.
“We started off a little timid and was just kinda waiting on them to make some mistakes,” Greenbrier East head coach Matt Sauvage said. “Then in the second set they started out making some mistakes. We finally got aggressive and were able to push a lead out.”
Trailing 16-14 in set two, East appeared to grab the momentum after a Woodrow service error. Nevaeh Wooding then tied the set with a kill before giving East the lead with a huge block. A kill from Ella Asbury made it a two point lead which the Spartans held late in the set.
At the crucial point in the set where the match could have swayed back in East’s favor, the Spartans became its own worst enemy.
“Towards the end of the second set, we backed off again, instead of keeping our foot on the pedal,” Sauvage said. “The second set is on us. The first and third set, they just outplayed us. I would like to have an excuse for it, but they just outplayed us.”
With a free ball and a chance to push the lead to three, East committed the first of four unforced errors to fall behind, 24-22. Moss sealed the Woodrow comeback with a blast that could not be handled by the Spartan defenders.
“”We have talked about situations like that and practiced winning when we are down. They did what they needed to do to get the win. It was an all-around effort from the players on the bench to the players on the court. Everybody did what they were supposed to do tonight,” Rhodes said.
A blast from Salon, along with another block from Ziolkowski and an ace from Emily Gallaher set the tone early in set three.
Each time East would appear to be making a run, Salon was there with the key play for her team on a night where she achieved her 1,000th career kill.
“That was the best match I have played in a long time. It might have been the best I have ever played,” Salon said. “Someone always has to step up and it can be anyone on the team. It can be a freshman to a senior. It just turns out sometime that I am the one to step up at key moments.”
Salons effort and impact may have been best exemplified by her play following a big block from Gracie Gumm gave East some hope, down 18-13.
A dig from Salon saved a crucial point before Abby Dillon set her on the back row. Salon’s blast killed the Spartans rally in its tracks.
Quietly moving around the floor, Dillon has been a huge part of Woodrow’s success. In the win Tuesday, Dillon handed out her 1,000th assist in just her freshman season.
Woodrow ended the match where it started with a kill from Moss, two blocks from Ziolkowski and an ace from Wooton.
“The win was great because I felt like as a team, we really came together. We played as a team and not like six individuals,” Salon said. “That was something we struggled with this season. I see everyone’s talent and potential and I think we can be even better.”
Greenbrier East rebounded in the elimination round to defeat Princeton and advance to the sectional championship match Thursday. One win by the Flying Eagles will secure them the title, while East will need two victories to be sectional champions.
By advancing to the championship match Woodrow and East have both already secured a berth in Saturday’s regional championship to be played at George Washington High School.
