BLACKSVILLE- “Ain’t it good to be back home again.”
Of course, every West Virginian knows and loves and can sing most if not all the lyrics of the timeless classic and unofficial Mountain State song, “Country Roads.” However, last night, the Clay-Battelle volleyball team might’ve had that other John Denver tune on their minds as they hosted Paden City and cross-county rival Trinity Christian in a Mason-Dixon Conference tri-match.
After all, since it was their first game at home since August, and the Cee-Bee gym was rocking for the final match of the night after CB downed Paden City 25-17, 25-13 and the Warriors also took down the Wildcats 25-10, 25-10.
So it was No. 1 CB vs. No. 2 TCS with the top spot in the conference on the line, and the hard-fought, hotly contested match didn’t disappoint, especially the home fans, as the Cee-Bees came back in the final two sets to prevail, 17-25, 25-16, 25-22.
The first set saw both teams begin a bit jittery, especially from the service line, as several unforced errors kept the score close. Clay-Battelle (12-6, 9-1 in conference) slipped out to a 10-6 lead, but solid play during free points allowed the Warriors (15-6, 7-3) to battle back to even, 13-13. Then TC junior Luciana Citerone got hot with her jump serve, piling up several aces and propelling her team to a 19-15 advantage, as the Warriors rolled down the stretch with a 12-4 run to take set one, 25-17.
Set two remained tight until CB libero Ginger Gross got going with her jump serve, which allowed the Cee-Bees to grab a 14-9 cushion that the Warriors were never able to surmount. The nine-point margin of victory in the set was the largest for either team in the match, and the CB 25-16 win set the stage for the winner-takes-all final stanza.
The Cee-Bee faithful were letting it rip early as junior middle hitter Ruby Owens was swinging well early with some big kills, but the Warriors refused to back off, and even took the lead at 6-7 until CB began to edge ahead. Down by four at several stages in the middle of the set, Trinity grinded back to close the gap, only to give ground again, until the Cee-Bees took a seemingly commanding 23-19 lead after Nevaeh St. Clair’s big spike and bigger jump serve ace down the line. Yet the Warriors would not fold, and they pulled within 1 point at 23-22 – until Owens rose up and blocked two straight Trinity swings to close it out, 25-22.
After the match, first-year Trinity coach Anna Witt was disappointed with the heartbreaker but proud of the heart her team showed.
“We were missing our best player,” she admitted, “which forced us to play several girls in brand new positions, and that caused us a few communication issues. But I loved the way we closed out the first set, and also how we battled our way back into it in the final set. They never gave up, and with the versatility and experience we gained tonight, it feels a little like we lost a battle but may have gained something toward winning the war. We know we’ll see them again, and we look forward to the challenge.”
CB coach Matthew Wood agreed with the assessment that serving execution was a big key in the match.
“No question that we turned the match around when we started to limit the free points we were giving from the line,” he said. “It’s a game of momentum and mistakes, and when we started making them earn more points, it made a difference. I thought we passed well also, and Ruby and Nevaeh gave us a big boost with their middle blocking, especially in the third.
“We were up for this one for sure,” he continued. “It was great to have a big match with a good crowd at home, and I thought our energy and concentration was up, especially in the final stages of the match. That’s what it takes to win against good teams and good rivals like Trinity.”
The Cee-Bees host Hundred on Thursday at 7:00 p.m., while the Warriors are off until Monday when they travel to Fairmont Senior at 6:00 p.m.
BY MARK SCHRAF
