LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. – Maryville made some mountain magic Friday afternoon and knocked off rival Huntingdon 3-2 in the Collegiate Conference of the South Tournament Semifinals.
The Scots prevailed 25-18, 25-14, 29-31, 13-25 and 15-10. In five five-set matches against Huntingdon over the last three seasons, Maryville has won four of them including the last three five-setters in a row. Maryville overall is 6-3 against the Hawks during the last three seasons.
"We have been talking about creating our own energy and asking the players to trust their skills," Maryville interim head coach
Brienna Laskowski said. "You could see that in those first two sets. We were feeling it."
Maryville took Set 1 after a struggle in the middle. The teams were tied at 13-13 and 14-14 before
Hannah Kammer contributed a pair of kills to spark a 7-2 run. The Scots didn't let Huntingdon string together consecutive points and
Reese Bailey ended it with a kill at 25-18.
Set 2 was all Scots. They broke in front 3-0 and 5-1 on kills from
Kenzie Brewster and
Cailin Mastropasqua.
Ashley Hilbelink served three straight points, including a service ace, and Maryville led 11-5. Soon enough, it was 19-9 and kills from Bailey and Mastropasqua ended things at 25-14.
Maryville trailed in Set 3 by 4-0 early and as much as 15-8. It was still 20-13 Hawks when the Scots scored three in a row, capped by
Addie Smith's kill that made it 20-16. Maryville finally drew level at 24-all and then the score went back and forth. It looked like the Scots had won 30-28, but the call was overturned and Huntingdon won the final three points to stay alive, 31-29.
Huntingdon dominated the fourth set, streaking to a 5-0 lead and never allowing the Scots closer than two. The Hawks ended on an 8-2 run and Semifinal No. 1 was headed for a fifth set.
Scots Dig Deep in Set 5
Maryville scored the first four of Set 5 and built its lead to 8-3 on a Huntingdon attack error. After the Hawks pulled within 9-7,
Kayli Altom came off the bench and delivered a kill that sparked a 3-1 run.
Landry Frisch had the last kill for Maryville in the match and Huntingdon errors accounted for the final two Scot points in the 15-10 decision.
"There was some let-down after dropping that third set, but going into the fifth, we challenged them to dig a little deeper," Laskowski said. "We didn't want to leave the gym with any regrets.
"Then we switched our lineup a little bit. We've been doing that of late and the girls are really taking to it. You could see our renewed energy, and it helped us get the results we wanted."
Bailey posted nine kills and a .316 attack percentage, with Smith right behind with a dozen kills and a .308 attack clip. Kammer recorded a double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs.
Dakota Vaiese also had a double-double with 29 assists and 11 digs, while
Ally Sokolow posted a game-high 24 digs. Hilbelink finished with 11 digs and
Ella Reyes contributed 17 assists.
The Scots as a team hit at a .143 attack percentage to Huntingdon's .110. Maryville out-blocked the Hawks by a slim 5-4 margin.
No. 24 Covenant Is Next
Maryville now takes on No. 24-ranked Covenant in Saturday's championship match. Covenant improved to 33-2 this season with a 3-0 defeat of Berea in Friday's other semifinal.
Covenant won both matches this season against Maryville, 3-2 on Lookout Mountain back on Oct. 3 and 3-0 in Maryville on Oct. 24. Maryville won two sets against Covenant and Piedmont won one for the only three sets dropped by Covenant in CCS play this season.
Maryville at 18-16 has assured itself of a winning season, but the Scots want a title.
"The message after the match was the job's not done," Laskowski said. "Make sure we leave it all on the floor. Obviously, this team's been through the ringer this season. I thanked the girls for their buy-in. Their trust in what we as coaches have been asking and instructing has led us to this championship match.
"We want it, and we know Saturday will be a battle. But we have proved that we can hang with the best of them."
Start time from Lookout Mountain is 3 p.m.
