CHARLESTON, W.Va. — It took West Virginia’s most storied high school volleyball program to end a championship season for the girls from Summers County.
The Bobcats didn’t go down without an all-out fight.
Wirt County, who won their 13th overall state title later Thursday night, November 12, came from a set down in an afternoon semifinal match to slip past Summers County, 26-28, 25-23, 25-18, 25-20, in the Class A state tournament at the Charleston Civic Center.
“I mean, I don’t know what to say about this group,” said Kelly Brogan, who coached the ‘Cats to the state title back in 2010. “They battled with a lot of things other than just play on the court. Their mental game needed to come up and it did this year. They were never a come from behind team and they did it a lot this year. They gained confidence in their play and it helped them really get this far.”
Come from behind?
The Bobcats did it in the first set against the mighty Tigers.
Wirt led 18-11 and looked to be on cruise control. That cruise got a bit choppy late in the set.
The senior combination of setter Taylor Isaac and outside hitter Gavin Pivont led the Summers County charge and got plenty of help from their friends.
The Bobcats outscored Wirt 17-8 down the stretch, erasing three set points in the process.
Gavin Pivont had four kills in the rally and little sister Sullivan Pivont added three more to go with a pair of big aces. All the kills came off assists from the steady Isaac.
A block from Danielle Midkiff, a hustle play from Maggie Stover at the net and a Liv Meador ace aided in the comeback.
“We still didn’t have a lot of offense like we needed, but I think we started doing better up there with the blocks and kind of made them think about it,” Brogan said.
The Bobcat momentum carried into the second set and had them on top 16-10 before Wirt fought back.
Behind senior outside Emma Wyer, who knocked down a match-high 30 kills, the Tigers rallied to even the match.
It was the set that got away for Summers as the ‘Cats couldn’t overcome three service errors and a pair of net violations.
“I told them on a timeout, ‘They (Wirt) didn’t score those points, we lost those points’,” Brogan said. “In this type of level of play, there is no room for those types of mistakes. It got us down, but we came back and battled.”
Wirt County controlled set three and led 19-10 in the fourth, before one last Wildcat comeback attempt.
Summers sliced the nine-point lead to three — 22-19 — late on a Stover service winner, but it was as close as they would get.
“They got really tired,” Brogan said of her bunch, who won both the sectional and regional tournaments and defeated Greenbrier West in a Thursday morning four-set quarterfinal. “I mean just the emotions I think got with them. But they battled back really well at times and I was really proud of that. I just think we got tired and back on our heels a little bit, but I was really proud of how they battled in all of the sets really.”
Both Isaac and Gavin Pivont made the all-tournament team for the Wildcats.
“Taylor and Gavin have been in these type of situations before, not in volleyball — basketball is where they feel (at) home. But I think they draw on that a little bit,” said Brogan. “I just really feel like overall, everybody just kind of learned as they went, to battle and that a few points here and there can make a big difference.”
Quarterfinal Win
Summers County started their morning in Charleston with a four-set, 25-19, 23-25, 25-17, 25-21 quarterfinal win over Greenbrier West.
It was the fourth meeting of the year between the two teams and the third win in the series for the Bobcats.
“Every time (against West) it’s pretty much been a battle except for last weekend in the regionals,” Brogan said. “It’s been up and down with them.
“They really changed their game up against us and it was working,” she added. “As you could see, we covered them short all year and they were pushing everything deep on us (today). They had a really good game plan I thought. We were just able to battle back out of that.”
After splitting the opening two sets, the Bobcats took over in the third.
A pair of late swings from Sullivan Pivont ended a 12-4 run, giving the ‘Cats a 2-1 lead.
A Gavin Pivont service winner broke a 20-all tie in the fourth as Summers County scored six of the final seven points of the match.
State Tournament Notes
• The Group A field included just five teams instead of the usual eight on Thursday.
Parkersburg Catholic, Williamstown and Buffalo all qualified for the state tournament but couldn’t compete due to West Virginia COVID-19 regulations.
Only 16 of the 24 teams that qualified for Charleston in all three classes were allowed to participate in the tournament.
• The four-member senior volleyball class at Wirt County will graduate with three state championships under their belt — 2017, 2019, 2020.
The Tigers defeated East Hardy in Thursday night’s championship match — 25-14, 25-15, 25-8.
East Hardy secured their spot in the title match with a straight-set semifinal win over Moorefield.
