By Carl Holcomb
Moorefield Examiner
East Hardy Volleyball has been a mainstay atop the Potomac Valley Conference for the past two decades and the dynasty continued as the Cougars kept the championship crown with a sweep over the Vikings in Baker on Saturday: 25-14 and 25-11.
The Cougars were the top seed for the PVC Tournament earning a first round bye, then beat No. 4 Paw Paw in the semifinals to reach the championship.
Third seeded Petersburg started the PVC Tournament with a win over No. 6 Union and kept the momentum going with an upset over second seeded Pendleton County in the semifinals.
Paw Paw defeated No. 5 Tucker County in the first round, while Pendleton County beat No. 7 Tygarts Valley.
During the consolation round, Union beat Tygarts Valley, then lost to Paw Paw; Pendleton County defeated Tucker County before earning third place over the Pirates.
“I’m very proud. They came out and stayed focused all day. There were some delays in between our games, so for our girls to able to come in focused and sharp and compete the way they did was really good to see. The serve-receive is something we have been working on, because if we can get a decent pass off serve-receive that puts a lot of pressure on the defense. It helps Morganne and Kerr to swing with power. That is hard to receive. When we get rolling, we are hard to stop. Our block did well setting up our defense. We did a good job of continuing and getting the ball where we wanted it to go,” East Hardy Volleyball assistant coach Chris Hahn commented.
The Cougars commenced the PVC Championship with a 4-1 lead as Morganne Miller created a kill and service point, while Madison Kerr garnered a block and spike.
Petersburg countered as Miley Tingler launched an attack which was saved by East Hardy’s Amelia Garrett, but couldn’t be redirected over the net and Tingler added an ace, 4-3.
East Hardy responded with four straight points as Kerr made a kill and two blocks and Danica Wolfe delivered an ace, 8-3.
After an error, Miller made a dig and Kerr slammed the ball off a set from Xavia Barber.
Kerr spiked the ball moments after a block was saved by Tingler.
Petersburg’s Addy Day notched a point on a deflection for an 11-6 score.
Kerr sandwiched two kills around a dig by Miller as the Cougars steadily gained more ground.
An attack by Miler couldn’t be corralled, despite a dig by Vikings libero Makenah Shriver.
Garrett served an ace to put East Hardy up 16-8.
Tingler and Teila Thorne collected points on spikes for the Vikings.
Miller blocked a volley, then delivered a pair of aces for a 19-10 advantage.
Tingler’s attack was met with a dig by East Hardy’s Savannah Pullen, but ricocheted out of play.
Wolfe’s volley was returned out of bounds, prior to a kill by Thorne for a 20-12 score.
Petersburg’s Ayden Mayfield served up two aces before a serve went awry.
The Cougars closed out the set as Kerr made two blocks and two spikes for a 25-14 win.
East Hardy built a 6-1 lead in the second set of the PVC Championship which included an ace and two kills by Miller.
The Vikings responded with spikes by Day sandwiching a kill from Kerr.
East Hardy’s Miller, Garrett and Kerr created points on attacks for a 10-3 edge.
Barber landed an ace for the Cougars, then Emerson Pearce blocked a shot which was saved on a dig by Tingler.
The Vikings kept the floor clear for several minutes on digs by Ella Markwell, Mayfield and Tingler, then Barber made an attack which was returned out.
A serve by Barber was returned awry, then Kerr blocked a volley for a 14-3 advantage.
Petersburg’s Elizabeth Huffman blocked a shot after a service error and Tingler collected an attack point which wasn’t corralled.
Miller made a couple blocks and Garrett served two aces for a 21-7 lead.
The Vikings managed to add four more points down the stretch, but the Cougars finished the championship with a spike from Kerr for a 25-11, 2-nil victory.
East Hardy (17-8) added another PVC Volleyball title plaque to the trophy case in Baker.
The Cougars have four games remaining in the regular season starting at Southern Garrett on Monday, then hosted Petersburg yesterday, travel to Keyser on Thursday and the season finale in Baker is against Pendleton County next Tuesday.
