BEARVILLE — Third-seed Pierce County’s Lady Bears volleyball team had its “Final Four” dreams burst here Saturday in the falling to sixth-seed Coahulla Creek in the best-of-five “Elite 8” matchup.
The Lady Colts (28-16) advance to face second-seed Union County (39-6) in the semifinals. The other semifinal match has fifth-seed Morgan County (2617), the winner of back-to-back AA titles, traveling to top-seed Lafayette (44-5).
PCHS (30-11) turned back visiting Region 3 member Islands (22-17), seeded 14th, in a three-set “Sweet 16” sweep Wednesday, October 21, winning 25-19, 25-18, 25-20 Ansley Hutcheson’s 10 assists led the team with Daisy Thigpen following with seven assists.
Isabella Marx and Gracie Brewer led defensively with nine digs and seven digs respectively. Azalea Mobley had seven kills while Zayleight Raithel and Marx finished with five apiece. Mobley and Raithel recorded a block each.
“The old saying ‘it’s hard to beat a good team three times in a season’ was definitely in the back of our minds,” said head coach Robbie Spires, who led her five-year-old program to its first 30-win season. “Set 1 started much the same as the previous two meetings with the score going back and forth with Islands taking a several point lead. We settled in and got on track with solid hitting performances and excellent serving.
“We fell behind in the second set, but took total control after point six controlling the tempo forcing Islands to change their game plan from hitting to off speed and tips which we were able to shut down. The set 3 score seemed closer than it really was. We made a few unforced errors after getting to 21 to make it seem closer. The match ended with a service ace by Marx.”
The victory propelled PCHS to its second “Elite 8” appearance in four years.
Saturday’s (October 24) matchup with Coahulla Creek, a program which has played at least three times longer than the Lady Bears, ended with the Lady Colts winning by the scores of 25-22, 19-25, 2518, 25-20 in front of a packed PCHS home side.
“Coahulla Creek said it had never played in front of that large of a crowd,” said Spires. “It was a great volleyball environment. The nerves were apparent early on for us because many of these players were playing in their first ‘Elite 8’. We fell behind early in the first set, tied the score and eventually lost.
“We got on track early in the second set and started getting kills and a lot more block touches to help the defense out. Several service aces sealed the deal. Coahula Creek’s Alyce Nolan took charge in set three racking up kills and several service aces to take a 2-1 lead.
“We did not lay down, though. Aly Yeomans had three big blocks against Nolan in the fourth set. Marx, Thigpen and (Heidi) Hodges all got service aces to keep the us in the fight, but their (Lady Colts) playing experience and hitting of Nolan and teammates proved too much ending a dream season.”
Spires said she was proud of her team, which overcame an 0-5 start winning 30 of their last 36 matches and winning the first region title in program history.
“It truly was a magical season,” she said. “We attained our highest ranking (No. 3) in Week 4 and that lasted until the end of the season. We had several All-Region players including the Region Offensive Player of the Year and Region Player of the Year. Even though we fell short of the goal for the year (Final 4 and Finals), this team will be remembered for all the accomplishments achieved.
“I, and the team, want to give a very large and very heartfelt Thank You and shout out to Bear Nation! The fans in the stands motivated these girls to fight when down, and to strive to make our supporters proud on and off of the court.
“As always, we will miss the seniors. Look for us to be back next year more experienced and more hunger to take that next step.”
Comments