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Day one of state volleyball tournament in the books

By Jay W. Bennett 8 min read

CHARLESTON -- Four area programs were trying to win their respective state volleyball tournament quarterfinal matches on Friday inside the Charleston Coliseum.

In Class AAA, sixth-seeded Parkersburg (34-17) was attempting to upset third-seeded Morgantown, but the Mohigans were able to eliminate the Big Reds after securing a 25-14, 25-21 and 25-13 sweep.

Head coach Erin Thorpe's Big Reds didn't have a lead until 2-1 in set two when Riley Hilling tallied a service point.

MHS only allowed three service tallies in the opening set. One of those was an ace by Big Red setter Rylee Wise, who finished with two aces, a pair of kills and 16 assists. Caelyn Wise and libero Olivia Perkins had the other service points.

Hilling led the Big Reds with five downed spikes. Lily Wharton had four kills, senior Kisten Roberts and Mya Green recorded a trio of downed spikes apiece.

"We're a young team and I knew coming in that the civic center is a hard place to play for someone that's not been there before," admitted coach Thorpe, who vowed to be back next year. "I knew Morgantown was going to be a really tough opponent.

"We didn't pass well. We didn't hit well, but these girls have a lot of heart. I think they were really nervous because they wanted to do so well. I got three sophomores on the floor all the time. We're just young."

All three Little Kanawha Conference programs won their first match of the day in single-A.

Gilmer County was able to give head coach Chelsea Stickelman her first career state tournament win after the fourth-seeded Titans swept No. 5 Greenbrier West 25-15, 25-23 and 25-18.

The first point of the match came when Titan Malaysia Morgan had her back to the net, sent it across and it dropped after Katie Anderson was able to keep the ball alive on a bump set.

Gilmer County didn't trail in the opening set and finished it off with Carrah Ferguson at the service line when Taylor McHenry registered a kill via a Jailyn Mims assist.

Consecutive kills from Cavalier senior middle Kenzie O'Dell put the Titans in a quick 2-0 hole in set two. GCHS moved ahead 12-11 following a Harlee McHenry downed spike. A pair of unforced errors by the Cavaliers allowed the Titans to take control. A Kiley Richards block was later followed by an Anderson ace to make it 17-12, but the Cavs rallied to close to within 23-22 following a Brooke Nutter kill. The Titans closed it out with kills from Richards and Anderson.

Aces by Amiah Stewart and libero Emma Taylor helped the Titans go up 8-4 in set three. It was 13-7 following back-to-back Taylor McHenry kills. The Titans earned match point via a Morgan downed spike.

"We came into this having confidence because of how good we've played in the postseason, but still knowing we can be our worst enemy," Stickelman said. "We were just focused on our side of the court and let them make their own mistakes.

"We had great focus. We got down a little bit, but we were able to rally back and we did what we needed to do."

Class A top-seeded Ritchie County breezed past No. 8 Charleston Catholic 25-11, 25-12 and 25-10.

Rebekah Rupert led the way with 21 kills. Karissa Weekley served up a trio of aces and Sydney Kopshina a pair. Abby Nichols had 36 assists and three aces. Emily Griffin added eight kills and Olivia Cress seven.

The Irish had just one lead the entire match and that came at 4-3 in set two when the Rebels passed a free ball out of play.

Rupert started set one with a kill and it was 4-0 following a Weekley ace. Down 9-3, the Irish tried to make a run as a Chloe Clark ace and three more service tallies cut the deficit to 9-7. However, the Rebels rolled the rest of the set. Presley Johnson's kill from a Rupert assist made it 24-11 and libero Marissa Jeffrey served for the final point.

"I only have one player that's really had experience down here and that's Rupert when she was a freshman and played in the finals against Wirt County," said Rebels coach Matt Carpenter. "The rest of them really haven't had court time down here and the Charleston Showcase has been canceled the last couple of years. I've done my best all year to try and prepare them for the atmosphere we've had.

"We didn't have many unforced errors. Across the board, all five hitters who took swings did a great, great job. Back row, there in that first game, we had three points in a row I wasn't happy with but after the timeout we went on a 16-4 run so we got focused and did what we had to do."

Cress opened set two with consecutive kills. Three straight kills by Griffin later made it 15-6 Rebels as the Irish couldn't get anything going.

In set three, Rupert had three early kills and Weekley served up an ace for a 4-0 advantage. A block by Clark cut the deficit to 7-5, but the Irish couldn't get any closer. An ace by Nichols pushed the lead to 23-10. Jayci Gray finished things off for Ritchie County with a pair of kills.

During Williamstown's 25-8, 25-15 and 25-16 sweep of No. 7 seed Moorefield, senior libero Jillian Modesitt recorded her 2,000th career dig in the opening set.

"I've been working for this since my freshman year," Modesitt admitted. "I've been working so hard for it and I'm so happy I finally did it at state. It just makes it more special. It feels so great."

Becca Shamblin opened the state quarterfinal match for No. 2 WHS with back-to-back kills and Lakyn Joy followed with an ace. Joy also had another ace in the set-opening 8-0 spurt. The senior setter, who finished with 29 assists, capped off the first set with a kill.

Moorefield managed to play even through the first half of the second half. Kyndra Johnson's kill made it 12-11 and the Yellowjackets (28-9-2) finally took the lead for good on a Riah Sprouse downed spike, which made it 13-12. Payton Woodard's ace sealed set point.

Thanks in part to a pair of Georgie Inman aces along with two downed spikes from Aubrey Erwin, WHS was able to take a quick 12-3 lead in set three. The Yellow Jackets were doubled up 22-11 after another ace by Joy. Head coach Rachelle Cole's squad punched their ticket to the semifinals when Inman served for match point thanks to a Modesitt pass, which led to a Joy assist via Woodard's kill.

Modesitt had 22 digs and Kamryn Haynes added 18 more. Shamblin finished with nine kills. Sprouse, Erwin and Woodard registered eight kills apiece.

* The top two seeds will play for the title after Ritchie County ousted Gilmer County 25-19, 25-10, 25-8 and Williamstown bested No. 3 Buffalo 25-15, 25-19 and 25-12.

Rupert put down 27 kills and added seven blocks versus the Titans, who finished 29-7-2 and were paced by Anderson's nine assists along with five kills apiece from Taylor McHenry and Morgan.

"No, I don't have to ice the shoulder. I'll be good," quipped Rupert. "Coming down here as a junior is just a dream coming true.

"All my work. All the work my team has put into it. I'm just happy for everybody to be able to come down here."

The Titans' only lead of the match came in set three at 3-2, but Rupert registered a kill for a side out. Nichols then proceeded to serve for 15 straight points, including a pair of aces.

"I've never served for that many before," admitted Nichols. "It feels like everything is just clicking, like it's just meant to be.

"It's going to happen. It's amazing to be a part of something so great. It's just amazing. I got the best hitters in the state."

Williamstown withstood Buffalo's best effort and sealed match point on an Erwin block with Johnson serving.

Joy finished with 23 assists and 22 digs. Modesitt, Haynes and Inman also had 10 digs apiece. Erwin led the hitting attack with 11 kills. Woodard chipped in nine, Strobl six while Sprouse and Shamblin had four apiece.

"We'll give it our best go," said coach of Saturday's 9:30 a.m. state title match.

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