The fine print on the trophy presented after Thursday night’s match at Hidden Valley High School said 2014 Conference 32 Volleyball Champions.
There should have been a second one presented for marksmanship.
In dominating fashion, Cave Spring rebounded from the previous week’s 5-set loss to Hidden Valley to roll to the 25-19; 25-19; 25-20 sweep of the defending state champions.
The championship that played out Thursday night in the boisterous Titan gym certainly began under a shroud of mystery.
Would Hidden Valley repeat its dramatic shift-of-momentum comeback win in 5 sets from the previous Thursday, or could Cave Spring rebound to repeat its 3-game sweep over the Titans in early October ?
Although Cave Spring head coach Tamalyn Tanis, with five volleyball state championships under her belt, doesn’t need any coaching assistance, she received a couple of suggestions heading into Thursday night’s play.
One source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, recommended shying away from the dinks and pushes in favor of concentrating on the long-time Knight’s signature smash mouth style.
Another came from Cave Spring principal Steve Spangler. Spangler, a former Cave Spring head football coach who is no stranger to momentum shifts, gave Tanis some advice to pass along to the team- “When you have your foot on somebody’s throat, keep it there.”
Little doubt the Knights squad heeded the head mentor’s advice.
Cave Spring wasted no time in the opening set. Riding a pair of Piper Roe kills, the Knights jumped out to a 10-3 lead. Although Hidden Valley closed to within 10-7, the 6’2″ Roe stemmed the Titan rally with another two kills that put the Knights up 14-8. Back line return troubles by the Titans allowed Cave Spring to stay ahead 20-13 before Hidden Valley stormed back to close to within three, 22-19. Again it was Roe, dropping a shot to to the hardwood and following with a block that put the set to game-point and eventual 25-19 win.
The talented Hidden Valley team opened the second set with a quick 5-1 lead. But, a Roe kill ignited a 14-7 Knight run, before the most exciting exchange of the night. Roe sent two straight blasts past the Titan defense and Hidden Valley’s Erin Newell answered with a launch that had mach-one written all over it. The Titans drew to within 22-19 after Cave Spring watched two straight serves fall inbounds, but Knights senior Tessa Klimaitis sent a rocket past the Hidden Valley defense and Roe followed moments later with a block for the set-winner.
With the memory of the previous week’s Titan comeback fresh in everyone’s mind, Cave Spring was taking nothing for granted and Hidden Valley was looking for a repeat in set three.
The Titans opened a 6-3 lead after Cave Spring reverted to soft shots that set the Titans perfectly. A Cave Spring time out righted the ship in a hurry and the Knights went on a 7-2 run. Later, Cave Spring pulled away from an 11-all tie with a 9-3 flurry for a 20-14 advantage that essentially settled the outcome. Hidden Valley got no closer than three the rest of the way.
“We just didn’t play as well this time,” Hidden Valley head coach Carla Ponn noted afterward. “We didn’t have the drive. For every three kills, we had two errors. It was one of those nights. We’ll learn from this and move on. Cave Spring is a good team and they were prepared.”
“We stuck to our game plan and set up the big guns,” Tanis said. “We were focused tonight. You can’t rest on a 2-0 lead. When you take things for granted, bad things happen. Piper pounced on them and she’s got to do that the rest of the way.”
“We needed to lose that last match to Hidden Valley to know we can’t let up,” Roe pointed out. “I disappeared for two matches, but I was ready tonight. We could look at their faces (the Hidden Valley side) and tell they were concerned. We really had good passes tonight and that was the difference.”
“We were focused and kept pushing it,” junior Alayna Foutz noted. “Hidden Valley has a great team. We just kept the energy and played Cave Spring volleyball.”
Roe led the Cave Spring power with 14 kills, while Tessa Klimaitis added 8. Foutz and junior Fallon Delp each had 14 digs, with Meagan Harrison setting the table with 32 assists. Senior Sydney McTigue drilled 4 aces.
On the Hidden Valley side, Drew Freeland posted 25 assists, while libero Lexi Baylor brought up 12 digs for the Titans.
Both teams advance to this vweek’s regional tournament play.
– Bill Turner