Parkersburg head coach Tammy Fisher looks on during Wednesday’s regional match against Hurricane. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

PARKERSBURG — First-year Parkersburg High School head coach Tammy Fisher knew all season long the Big Reds had it in them to reach the Class AAAA state tournament.

Following Wednesday’s 3-1 regional triumph versus Hurricane inside Memorial Fieldhouse the red and white punched their ticket to the big show in Charleston.

The Big Reds, who are making their first appearance in the state quarterfinals since 2022 when they were in triple-A, will carry a 21-18-4 mark as the No. 8 seed.

Defending quad-A state champion Hedgesville (39-3-3), which comes in with a 17-match winning streak and the No. 1 seed, will be the task at hand come Tuesday morning as PHS and the Eagles square off following the 8:30 a.m. opener between No. 4 Musselman and No. 5 Martinsburg.

“I don’t think people realize our schedule is really tough this year,” said coach Fisher. “I mean we were playing teams like when we went down there to Tennessee and played some really good teams there. That’s like four of our losses and you come up here and play Cabell (Midland), which is ranked third. We played them three times.

“We’ve played a really tough schedule. The kids have done really well.

“It’s hard when you have a new coach coming in, your first year, even though I was the assistant. A brand new coach and you have to have these kids go with your system and what you want to change things, and the seniors have just transitioned really well. They are the ones who led the team.”

Parkersburg’s trio of seniors – Kennedy Porter, Brenan Harvey and Ava Sayre – fully understand the road ahead is a difficult one.

“The best part about being an underdog is nobody expects you to do anything,” quipped Sayre, who got up close and personal with the scorer’s table making a play on a ball Wednesday night. “My nose was a little swollen, but I think I’m fine. I was surprised since we lost the first set. We are very up and down so whenever we are down we tend to not get back up. I was very nervous after we lost the first set, but we actually did go back up and we won the next three, which is very surprising on our end because we are like a rollercoaster.

“We did have a lot of lineup changes throughout the year because of teammates, because of injuries, because of sickness. It really just all depended, but Chloe (Gribble) was sick the day before so we were worried that she wasn’t able to play. She was fine though. I just think (the keys at state are) energy, teamwork and making sure we’re all as healthy as possible.”

Porter, who is off to Shepherd for basketball, was glad things worked out.

“It was the goal 100%,” she said. “One of the first things she (coach Fisher) said is like she looked up at the banner and was like ‘we’re going to get to state and hopefully get another number up there,’ but it’s definitely been the goal since day one. We definitely had some struggles we’ve had to work with, but it’s definitely been the goal.”

Back in 2022 when the Big Reds were last in Charleston they had the No. 6 seed and got ousted in the quarterfinals by No. 3 Hedgesville.

“I mean, yeah, I just keep thinking ‘oh my gosh, we’re going to states again.’ It’s so crazy to me,” Harvey replied when asked if Wednesday’s victory had sunk in yet. “I mean I think the beginning was a little bit hard, but we also had 10 freshmen.

“I think that makes it a little harder, but I think the first two weeks we kind of got it and we’ve just been building off that now. It’s just really special to me. I’m not going to play with them ever again. Just to be able to end my high school career being able to play in states is really amazing.”

From top to bottom it’s been a team effort all season long even though there were times when things definitely weren’t going as planned.

“We met with them in the spring after I got the job because I didn’t get it until late in the spring and so Katie (Wise) and I and Sarah (Dunn) we all got together and started talking and met with the seniors,” recalled coach Fisher.

“‘OK, what do you want from this season?’ This is what we want and we kind of came to a happy medium and they took it off and have done phenomenal. These kids are buying into what we are trying to teach them and they are listening to the seniors and the upperclassmen, and the upperclassmen are treating them really well. It’s phenomenal. I can’t take the credit, it’s the kids.”

Sayre definitely recalls her time as a freshman and is glad to have one more opportunity with her teammates.

“It feels nice because in our freshman year we were freshmen still and the seniors and juniors really overruled us, but now that we actually get to experience states to the fullest, I think that just means a lot to us,” Sayre admitted.

“My freshman year I just remember how fun it was, but we took everything so seriously and that’s why we made it to states. I think this year since we did take everything so seriously and since the freshmen on the bench also took things seriously, they were always cheering for us, and that really made an impact.”

As much as Porter loves roundball on the hardwood, she’s hoping to continue her volleyball career for as long as possible.

“It’s different. I feel like volleyball is a lot more energetic. Basketball at times it does get energetic, but it definitely does feel different,” Porter said of the two sports. “I feel like you are closer with the people that are on the court, like you need essentially everybody on the court.

“With basketball, like PHS basketball does work together a lot. It’s just that volleyball is way more of a team sport. If someone is down, like, it’s definitely a hard loss rather than basketball.”

Harvey kept it pretty simple when asked about trying to navigate through the defending state champion Eagles.

“Honestly, just play as a team,” admitted the libero of the big key. “Don’t let the different setting change how we play. Still play strong and play as a team. That’s it.”

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com

Inside the numbers

KILLS

Kennedy Porter 381

Ava Sayre 290

Chloe Gribble 117

BLOCKS

Kennedy Porter 97

Chloe Gribble 44

Calista Mace 32

ACES

Brenan Harvey 74

Kennedy Porter 55

Ava Sayre 47

ASSISTS

Ava Sayre 377

Kelina Utietiang 157

Brenan Harvey 85

DIGS

Brennan Harvey 529

Ava Sayre 381

Kelina Utietiang 181

SERVE-RECEIVING

Brenan Harvey 370

Ava Sayre 355

Bella Bowman 237