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Woodrow Wilson wins 3rd straight Spookfest

By Jay W. Bennett 5 min read

PARKERSBURG -- Five of the top seven ranked Class AAAA volleyball programs in the Mountain State converged here Saturday inside Memorial Fieldhouse for the Spookfest tournament, but there was no stopping No. 5 Woodrow Wilson as the Flying Eagles upended No. 7 Spring Valley 25-23 and 25-20 to claim their third consecutive championship.

"I love playing up here," admitted Flying Eagle all-state setter Abby Dillon, who produced a finals match-high 20 assists, but watched libero Londen Baker get the last assist on match point thanks to a bump set that Salia Harris put down for her match-high 15th kill.

"The tournament is so good. It's like a mini state tournament with all the good teams. I think a lot of the teams we saw here today we'll see at the state tournament. We're all very close and very positive. Just leadership and a tight-knit group, so that helps. We're going to stay locked in and keep practicing hard every day."

The Flying Eagles of head coach Bre Rhodes, who had the third seed following pool play, eliminated the host and sixth-seeded Big Reds 25-13 and 25-13 in the quarterfinals.

"I really try to get the best teams because I think to be the best you have to play the best," admitted PHS boss Erin Thorpe, whose team led 3-0 in set two following a Chloe Gribble ace. "I was trying to get the best teams in the state here and I think we did that.

"Woodrow is so good and they are so fast. They don't let anything drop. They swing aggressive every time. We tried a new lineup today. We did things bad that we don't normally do bad and that's just how volleyball goes."

The Flying Eagles, who took out seventh-seeded and No. 4 University by scores of 25-22 and 25-21 in the semifinals, scored nine of the next 10 points to take control against the Big Reds following the ace by Gribble.

Parkersburg, which plays Tuesday at St. Albans with Herbert Hoover, tried to make a run and closed it to 18-11 with the help of two Ava Sayre kills and an Ella Collins ace, but Harris finished things off for WWHS on match point with a kill.

"We knew coming up here it would be a tough pool play with University and (No. 1) Hedgesville," admitted coach Rhodes. "We were excited and ready because we hadn't seen them (Hedgesville) yet. It was good and we're glad to come out a champion for the third year in a row."

Spring Valley, which got a match-high four aces in the finals from libero Lilly Adkins, ousted Hedgesville in the semifinals 32-30, 16-25 and 18-16.

The Timberwolves had a chance at match point up 15-14 in set three, but Eagle Gracie Brown put one to the floor to square it. SVHS went ahead for good on a service error as Kennedy Davis toed the line for match point when Ava Robertson blocked Emmeri Bishop.

Trailing 18-16 in the opening set of the finals, Spring Valley scored six straight with Adkins at the line to push ahead by four. Adkins had one of her aces in the spurt, while Avery Ellis, Emily Maynard and Ava Robertson each had a downed spike.

An Ellis kill from one of Sydney Turner's nine assists pushed SVHS ahead 23-22, but an attack error tied it.

Kyndra Bailey followed with an ace and the Flying Eagles took the first set when Dillon assisted on Mollie Smith's kill.

Although Woodrow Wilson led 2-0 in set two thanks to a Harris kill and her block of Kiki Brumfield, SVHS led 5-3 following consecutive aces by Adkins. Spring Valley squared it at nine following a Brumfield/Emma Edwards double block of Smith, and it was 11-10 Timberwolves when Edwards mashed a bad Flying Eagle serve-receive.

However, coach Rhodes' team scored four straight points to take the lead for good thanks to a trio of kills from Harris and one by Reagan Rist.

"We've stayed pretty consistent," added coach Rhodes. "Everybody has been playing well. We haven't changed much around. Keep doing what's working.

"Five seniors that love the game, love each other and they are best friends. They've got great leadership and that helps. That's our game plan, just keep winning out."

Anya Hasan joined Smith with five kills in the finals. Rist had three downed spikes, Alexis Coleman had two and Harris chipped in a trio of aces.

"It was wild," admitted first-year SVHS head coach Brooke Smith of taking out Hedgesville in the semifinals. "We beat number one Morgantown (25-21, 25-17 in the semifinals).

"We are super excited about that. We are super pumped about that. Their outsides are very good. We see them Thursday on senior night so that will be a big night for us."

University knocked out No. 2 seed Philip Barbour, which is ranked second in double-A, by scores of 25-13, 22-25 and 15-8, while Hedgesville reached the semifinals by eliminating ninth-seeded Wheeling Park in straight 25-17 sets.

UHS took care of No. 8 Greenbrier East in the tournament play-in match – 25-21 and 25-17, while WPHS ended No. 10 Parkersburg South's day with a 25-22, 23-25 and 17-15 victory.

Things were looking good for the local Patriots of head coach Emily Tracwell when Shyanne Hays registered two kills from Leah Snyder assists and also had a block on Wheeling Park's Delaney Randolph with libero Brylee Hatcher serving for a 14-12 cushion in set three.

However, Park's Grace Tamburin had a kill and then an ace from Rowan Gillespie tied the set at 14.

South had a chance to win the match with a 15-14 lead, but they allowed the final three points. Lily Brinker's kill made it 16-15 and Randolph earned the final service tally on a South attack error.

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com

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