Monarchs Win Marathon Match Over Rival Patriots
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WHEELING -- The robust crowd that filled the stands in The Palace on the Hill Tuesday evening was treated to one of the best high school volleyball matches that will be played this season between rivals John Marshall and Wheeling Park.
Despite falling down two sets to none at the start, it was the visiting Monarchs (4-2-1) who came out with the cherished victory, prevailing in five sets 25-27, 14-25, 30-28, 25-20 and 18-16.
"When we struggled like that at the beginning, it shows a lot of character for them to pull it together and come through with the win," JM coach Cathleen Harr said. "It was a really, really intense game, both sides played really, really hard."
The nearly three-hour-long marathon match included three sets decided by just two points, all of which took extra scoring, two overturned calls and a yellow card issued to Wheeling Park (8-6) head coach Samantha Gentle.
"I was very happy with the way our girls played," Gentle said. "Multiple sets went extra-innings and they battled, so I'm not disappointed in the way they played."
The stands inside Wheeling Park High School were at capacity with raucous supporters on both sides cheering on their team, adding to the drama and intensity of the evenly-played affair.
"It is exciting," Gentle said of the large crowd. "The stands were screaming and hollering and it's a lot of energy. I know the kids get excited about it and we get excited about it too. Volleyball's an exciting sport so it's good to see when we get supported like this."
The tone of the match was established from the very first set with multiple ties, lead changes and a dramatic finish.
The Monarchs roared out to a 7-2 lead before the Patriots used a pair of extended scoring runs to knot things up at 16. JM later led 24-22, but Park rattled off five of the last six points to win 27-25.
The second set was the only one with any separation as Park won 25-14.
The Patriots initially trailed 10-7 but went on a 12-2 scoring run that put it away early.
When asked after the match what she told her team after falling down in sets 0-2, Harr said she couldn't recall, the second set seemed like a lifetime ago by the time things were said and done.
"My usual (message) is I try to help them refocus," Harr said. "We usually talk about our gameplan some and what we need to do to win, so I'm guessing that's what I did."
Whatever words Harr used were clearly the right ones as the Monarchs displayed an iron will to stave off defeat multiple times and win the third set 30-28.
Park had JM on the brink several times, including at 24-21, 25-24, 26-25, 27-26 and 28-27 but each time the Monarchs battled to stay alive. They eventually tied the set at 28-28 and won the final two points to claim victory.
"I think what brought it around was that we started blocking," Harr said. "And then our sets improved to where we were able to get better swings on the ball."
A 9-3 lead to start set four helped the Monarchs achieve a 25-20 win -- a cakewalk compared to the rest of the match -- setting up the do-or-die fifth set.
"We do pressure stuff like this at practice, so they're used to pressure," Harr said. "I just try to tell them to settle down and always try to refocus them so they don't get worked up over everything."
The final set did not disappoint as the teams again battled past the usual stopping point in a back-and-forth war of attrition.
After trailing 13-9, six of the next seven points went to the Monarchs, who went up 15-14. The teams tied at 15 and then 16 before JM scored twice in a row to claim the 18-17 triumph.
"I told the girls just to stay calm and keep doing the things we do well," Gentle said. "Our passing was phenomenal (Tuesday) and they couldn't handle our hits when we had a full swing. If we just kept doing that we would be fine. At the end there we kind of got a little bit away from that so John Marshall was able to come back."
As expected of such a competitive match, several players stood out on both sides of the net.
Junior Kayli Derrow led John Marshall with 12 kills and three aces. Sophomore Kaitlyn Blake flashed with 11 kills while Lilie Babiczuk had nine and Michaela Kobasko had eight.
Sydney Hess led the team with 14 assists and eight digs while Danica Deem had 13 assists and 14 digs.
"It's just a desire to win," Harr said of her team. "They want to win so they stay in it. They don't want to give up."
Big-hitting senior Olivia Albrecht stood out for Park with 23 kills, seven aces, 12 digs and three blocks.
"Most teams don't have an answer for her, so when she's on, she's really on," Gentle said. "I think (Tuesday) she played phenomenal. It was probably the best match she played all year."
Faith Randolph racked up 14 kills while Lily Brinker had 13 and nine digs. Junior Jillian Huffman dished out 43 assists while also recording 10 digs and nine kills.
Lexi Irwin and Paige Jasko each had 14 digs and three aces.
"You always want to take positives away from matches," Gentle said. "We can obviously learn from some things. Against their big hitters, I don't think we lined up our blocks as well as we could have so that's definitely an emphasis for us."
The teams will meet again this season on Oct. 6 in Glen Dale.
"I don't know what Coach Harr does, but every year her girls are scrappy," Gentle said. "They'll get after every tip or swipe, so we just need to swing more."
Both teams will be back in action Thursday as John Marshall hosts University and Park welcomes Parkersburg South.