By Stephen Smoot
“It wasn’t the start I imagined,” said Madison Day, Pendleton County volleyball head coach, after her first game in her new role.
After a strong showing in last fall’s state tournament in Charleston and coming back reloaded, giving up the first six points of the season was not expected by anyone.
But the fight, grit, determination, and outcome all looked familiar by game’s end.
Moorefield came into Franklin to renew the two schools’ rivalry in every sport that both play. Though the Wildcats lost Allie Cooper to graduation and Carolyn Varner’s deadly accurate serving to injury, they still retained a number of weapons both experienced and new.
That all said, the Yellow Jackets came to play. They started the first game with five misplayed balls and an ace served against the home squad. Looking rattled, the Wildcats called timeout to reset. From there, they went on a five to one run to narrow the gap considerably.
Avery Townsend helped to both set the table and serve the meal early on. First, she drove a spike into the middle of the Moorefield side to pull her team within two. Shortly after, she provided a perfect set to teammate Lizzie Alt, who spiked the ball herself.
Pendleton County took an 11-10 lead, but precise Moorefield play took them back to a 15-13 advantage.
Later in the set, an Alt ace pulled her team to within one at 20-19, but Moorefield pulled away and took the first set.
Set number two started remarkably similar to the first, but with the key difference being the Wildcats took the first five points. Alyssa Bennett offered the initial serve. On the return Brynlynn Waggy glided across the net to provide a strong set to Alt, who spiked the ball for the first point.
Waggy serves as one of three different setters for the Wildcats. Day explained that only rarely can a team rely on so many different players to handle the crucial responsibility.
Like Pendleton County did in the first set, the Yellow Jackets stung the Wildcats often enough to climb back into the competition. A 10 to seven run brought them to within two at 12-10. The home team worked hard to hold off Moorefield’s charge. Baylee Beachler, who got more comfortable as the game went on, raised the lead to 13-10 with her own spike. She deftly mixed hard spikes and soft taps to confuse the other side.
Pendleton County pushed ahead when a Townsend spike off a Waggy set took the score to 17-13, followed by Waggy outdueling Moorefield at the net to earn a score.
Beachler then took the next seven serves to close the game, earning two aces in the run while Alt scored two spikes. The Wildcats took the set 25-13.
Not until set three did both teams look comfortable, shaking off the rust of the off-season. The Yellow Jackets took an early 3-0 lead, but gave that up quickly. Pendleton County for a time would work to catch up, only to see their opponent pull ahead by one or two scores.
The Wildcats pulled ahead finally at 10-9 on an Alt ace. Moorefield tied on the next serve, but gave up the lead again as a Wildcat in traffic launched a desperate return that gained an 11-10 lead.
Good serving by Emma Hartman, combined with two blocks and other clutch Wildcat plays gave the home team daylight at 18-13. Unlike the previous set, the Yellow Jackets ripped off a five to nothing run to tie. A Beachler block at the net provided a 19-18 lead.
The set ended when Breena Bowers took the serve with the score 24-22. She delivered a perfect shot, scored an ace, and won the set.
Pendleton County continued to improve as the game went on. Emily Poling, who took over the back defensive position where Cooper played last year, found her form. She hustled back and forth, dove to save plays, and kept the ball alive for her team to find scoring opportunities.
Moorefield slowly built up a six point lead at 18-12, then again at 20-14. A nine to four run gave the Wildcats a shot to take the set and end the game, but a misplay on the backline gave the Yellow Jackets the set.
Then came the final set.
Moorefield took an early 2-1 lead, but an Alt spike and a Beachler ace put the Wildcats up by one. Alt then blocked a return and followed that with a spike. Moorefield then hit a spike too hard and it flew over the back line, pushing the score to 6-2 and causing the Moorefield coach to slam his water bottle to the floor.
On the next play, the Wildcats took a 7-2 lead when Waggy’s set allowed Alt to hit a crosscourt shot along the net that dropped. Beachler’s next ace made the score 8-2.
A five to three run by the Yellow Jackets narrowed the score, but did not allow them to threaten. Bowers took over the serve shortly thereafter and the Wildcats ended the final set at 15-7 and won the game.
Day explained after the game how she has continued to push an aggressive style. She said, “We want to receive at the start of every game.” Most teams prefer to serve first, but Day says that her team prefers to take the first chance at a scoring opportunity to establish themselves.
She said of the tough start in the initial game that “it’s good to face adversity” and that it prepares them for tough games later in the season.
“We’re all about facing the adversity and using it to better ourselves,” Day said.
The Wildcats were scheduled for a match Tuesday against Keyser and then travel to Union and Petersburg. They will host Highland on Tuesday.
