CHARLESTON — University put together some big starts Friday afternoon. The problem? They just couldn’t finish them.
Despite leading big in the last two sets, the Hawks dropped their first-round WVSSAC Volleyball Tournament match against Woodrow Wilson 3-0 (19-25, 22-25, 29-31).
“Little mistakes here and there cost us today. They made the plays and we didn’t,” coach Don Godfrey said. “I told the girls they made their effort. We were trying and we were playing hard.”
After a closely contested loss in the first set, the Hawks jumped out to a 15-8 lead in the second, only to falter, as their opponents 12-4 to retake the lead en route to taking the two-set advantage.
The second set proved a precursor for the third, as the Hawks led 19-13 at one point, close to closing the set and forcing a fourth. What happened instead was an incredible Woodrow rally that evened the score at 22-22.
The Hawks weren’t ready to quit, but neither were their opponents. The two teams battled back-and-forth, trading points — and the lead — as the set progressed into a win-by-two scenario. Neither team seemed to have the edge, but a vicious Woodrow hit finally sent the ball ricocheting off a Hawks defender and out of bounds to seal the game.
“It was really frustrating, honestly. We weren’t ready to go, and we didn’t want to lose,” said senior setter Lauren Huggins. “Both teams put forth their best effort they could to win, and when that happens I like to think both teams are evenly matched. We left it all on the court.”
When asked to pinpoint what happened on the court, Huggins attributed the loss to her team getting too comfortable while their opponents were out of rhythm.
“We got those leads by Woodrow making their own mistakes. They put themselves in a hole. They picked it up from there, and we weren’t ready for that,” she said. “You could tell from our girls’ faces that the ball wasn’t in our court anymore.”
Godfrey, meanwhile, lamented his team’s inability to close while on top during sets.
“The bottom line is, I thought we played hard, but Woodrow Wilson is a good team. You have to take advantage when you have a team like that down, and we didn’t.”
Junior Ashten Boggs led the Hawks with 16 kills and two aces, while Huggins added 18 assists.
