By Stephen Smoot
Some nights a team is on. Everything clicks. The ball always bounces the right way. The breaks go in favor of the team. Machinelike efficiency plows through the opposition.
Other nights a team has to fight through hard luck. The good teams on such nights will find a way to get the win.
The Wildcats traveled to Tucker County last Thursday hot off of a three set sweep at home over the Vikings. With the Potomac Valley Conference tournament at East Hardy coming up on Saturday, the Mountain Lions could have been a trap game. Pendleton County, fortunately, pulled off the win in front of a very quiet home crowd.
In the first set, Carolyn Varner opened the serving for the visiting Wildcats. She started the game with a low trajectory serve that ended in an ace. The next serve resulted in the Mountain Lions’ attempted spike going errant and out of bounds.
Tucker County then executed a four to one run to take a brief one point advantage, taken away by a decisive spike by Baylee Beachler. Tucker County pulled ahead 7-4, but a Gabby DePue spike and three straight aces by Breena Bowers gave the Wildcats a 9-8 lead.
The prevalent pattern of the game became Pendleton County moving ahead, then Tucker County fighting their way back. Usually this happened just as the Wildcats seemed to take command of the game.
Varner took over the serve again and put her team up 14-12 with an ace. Big plays by DePue, Beachler, and Lizzie Alt at the net, followed by two Varner aces put the Wildcats up 19-12. Tucker County then pulled off a five to one run that brought them back to a 20-17 score. They came within one, but eventually lost the first set 25-22.
Set two saw Pendleton County establish their biggest lead of the contest, rocketing out to an 8-0 lead. Alt and Allie Cooper fired shots to the Mountain Lion back line during the first three serves. Tucker County then used effective play to go on an 11 to five run to come within one.
The Wildcats tried to pull away by scoring five straight. This run included a Kate Hedrick spike and a Bowers’ ace, but the Mountain Lions refused to go away. Tucker County tied the game at 17, but a Hedrick block and an Alt spike gave their team breathing room. The Mountain Lions never again came closer than two in the set that Pendleton County won 25-20.
Tucker County was a good enough team to challenge Pendleton County, but, like Sisyphus, with tremendous effort rolled the boulder to the top of the mountain time and time again, only to see it fall back down. Teams in their position might have found little motivation in the third set, but the Mountain Lions gave their all until the very end.
Set number three started in a 5-5 tie. Once again, the Wildcats seemed to break the game open. A 6-0 run made the game 11 to five. This run featured a Hedrick spike and block at the net, as well as an ace by Emma Hartman, and a precisely placed shot by Cooper.
The lead stayed between four and six for much of the rest of the game, until a Beachler block, then spike elevated the lead to eight. Tucker County once again ate away at the lead, but could come no closer than four. Tucker County with their last serve fired the ball out of bounds, conceding the game point.
At the Potomac Valley Conference Tournament on Saturday at East Hardy High School, the Wildcats bested Petersburg, Paw Paw, and Tygart Valley, but fell to East Hardy.
