Spring Mills shocks Hawks, heads to state volleyball tournament
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MORGANTOWN - One team's miracle is by definition their opponent's worst nightmare.
When it's regional tournament time - win-or-go-home - the stakes and the pressure are dialed up, and on Wednesday in the Class AAAA North Region co-finals, No. 7 seed Spring Mills pulled off quite a surprise against No. 5-seed University High.
In an unbelievably competitive battle full of twists and turns and runs, the Hawks forged a seemingly insurmountable 14-8 lead in the deciding fifth set, only to see the Cardinals somehow stave off an unheard of six consecutive match points and eventually prevail to shock the Hawks and advance to Charleston, 3-2 (25-20, 19-25, 25-20, 20-25, 17-15).
University (32-13) had defeated Spring Mills (15-11) less than two weeks ago despite dropping the first set, and the Hawks once again started slowly, as the Cardinals scored eight straight points to take an 8-3 early lead and cruised to take Set 1, 25-20. Despite five service errors in Set 2, UHS picked up their passing and hitting in the latter stages to win six of the last eight points and even the match, 25-19. In the third set, Spring Mills outside hitters Avery Ward and McKenna Mullin found excellent success hitting over, past, or through UHS blocks to jump out to a 13-8 lead, only to watch the Hawks scramble back to knot the score at 18-all. But UHS couldn't get over the hump, and the Cardinals dominated late to win the set, 25-20.
With their season in the balance, the Hawks finally found their groove in Set 4, scoring nine straight points to build a 13-6 lead and rolling to a comfortable 25-20 win to force a deciding Set 5.
With the momentum on their side, Spring Mills looking a little leg weary, and their recent 15-8 Set 3 clincher against the Cardinals in their memory banks, UHS looked fresh and confident, and it showed with a series of solid side-outs and four separate mini-runs of three and four points. The Hawks sprinted out to a 6-1 lead, then stretched it to 11-5. A pair of back-row kills from Mullin cut the lead to 11-8, but the Hawks then ripped off three straight points to reach match point.
But an improbable combination of Cardinals digs, blocks, swings, and service aces seemed to erode the Hawks' confidence with every point, until the match was suddenly, stunningly tied at 14-14. Another huge back-row swing from Mullin was countered by a monster stuff block from UHS senior Riley Braham, but a free-swinging spike from Ward and a final Cardinal kill into an open corner finished off a long, nerve-wracking rally and cemented the unbelievable comeback for Spring Mills.
Amidst his team's tears of joy at qualifying for the State tournament for the first time in school history, Spring Mills head coach Sam Junkin admitted that his team appeared to be fatigued in Set 4.
"Yeah, we looked a little leg-heavy," he smiled, "but a told them to keep believing in themselves, that if we play our game the right way, nobody can beat us. We started to change things up at the tail end of the match to use our middle hitters more, and that turned out to be effective for us."
When asked if he'd ever seen a team save six match points, Junkin said "No, never. But our girls never quit fighting, and when you refuse to die, sometimes you can give yourself a chance for something amazing to happen."
For Hawks head coach Nick Lusk, the shock really hadn't worn off yet - and it may not have still.
"Of course it's heart wrenching," he continued. "The main reason I came back this season - Lusk revealed that he was stepping down as volleyball coach to concentrate on the UHS girls basketball program - was because of our seniors (Braham, Avery Bland, Alexis Oravec, Maggie Panson, Shyann Mayne, and Lucy Johnson), who have done so much to help rebuild this program. And we just wanted to keep it going."
"We really didn't find our game until the fourth set," he admitted. "But we elevated our level of play and tightened things up, and we carried it into Set 5 as well, and looked to be in good shape - we just didn't close it out. And no, I've never seen a team win that many match points against in a row, but you have to give Spring Mills the credit, because they fought hard, battled, and got the job done. We just didn't execute when we needed to."