Maplewood rides second-set momentum to state championship

Nov. 21—MECHANICSBURG — The Maplewood Tigers girls volleyball team used huge runs in the first and second sets to steal momentum from West Branch.

With momentum on their side, the Lady Tigers won the Class 1A state championship at Cumberland Valley High School on Saturday. Maplewood swept West Branch 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-11).

The state championship is the sixth in Maplewood girls volleyball program history. It is head coach Sheila Bancroft's fifth as the girls coach and sixth overall — she won one as the head coach of the boys team.

"They're (each title) all special. Every one of them, they all have a different meaning. These girls are just very resilient," Bancroft said. "This group of seniors I can't emphasize enough. They brought everyone around them with team unity and made this a really good team."

It was Maplewood's three seniors — Bailey Varndell, McKenna Crawford and Sadie Thomas — that led the Tigers to victory.

Late in the first set Maplewood trailed 22-19. West Branch had the Lady Tigers on their heels, but all-state outside hitter Thomas stepped up.

"I think it took to her senior year to finally say in a big time atmosphere I want the ball. You could see that in her the whole match," Bancroft said. "She wanted the ball every play and when she can finish it we're going to give it to her."

Thomas delivered back-to-back kills before a West Branch error tied the set.

"Don't give up any more points," Thomas said of her mindset when trailing late in a set. "Keep working hard, keep talking, don't get down and try to find that momentum swing we always need."

An ace from Varndell and key digs from Crawford gave Meadville a 26-24 first-set win.

In the second set, West Branch was dialed in. Maplewood trailed 15-9 before mounting a rally. Momentum started to build with Varndell at the service line. She had four aces and kept West Branch from passing effectively and running its offense.

"It's just focus. You always want to serve an ace, but this is my last game ever of volleyball so if it's not the time to do it now then when is it," Varndell said. "I just really wanted to get an ace and score points for myself."

Led by setter Varndell, Maplewood finished the set on a 16-6 run and went up 2-0 in the match.

"Bailey has an amazing serve when she can get it going. She served eight maybe in a row (Saturday)," Bancroft said. "That was the difference in the match that turned it around. The West Branch coach said at the end 'I thought it was a very even match, but we couldn't handle Bailey Varndell's serve.'"

Riding high from the huge run in the second set, Maplewood stayed aggressive in the third. The Tigers opened on a 7-2 run and didn't hold back.

"We know when you're up two sets, the third can be the hardest to play. I told them there is a lot of volleyball left to be played so please don't look at the scoreboard. I'll let you know when the game is over, just focus on one point at a time," Bancroft said. "Get a lot of momentum. If you get momentum they'll start to feel it and they'll make mistakes and that's what happened."

West Branch didn't muster a rally and the Lady Tigers' state title was clinched off an Elizabeth Hunter kill that went off the fingertips of a West Branch defender and fell harmlessly to the gym floor.

The Maplewood Lady Tigers left a permanent mark on the program with their state championship effort. What does the title mean to the girls?

"It means everything. We started the season playing in open gyms around June and we played for so long," Varndell said. "I wanted it since I saw my sister play in a championship match. It's a really big thing."

"It's amazing, unreal, it's all we've ever wanted and it's what we worked so hard for," Crawford said. "We've always had it in the back of our minds but it was a matter of bringing it to reality."

"It kind of feels like it didn't happen because it was so fast," Thomas said. "It's something that's very exciting and I'm definitely going to look back on it and be excited."

Bancroft is no stranger to state championships. For her, each year and group of girls is special. This year's team stands out to her because of their dedication to the program.

"It's a special group and it feels like they've been around forever, these older girls. I've been here and you can say I have the experience but I have to feed the experience to them because they've never played in that kind of atmosphere," Bancroft said. "We had to prepare them mentally and they were very focused. Just a very special and close knit group."

Varndell tallied 28 assists, 11 digs, nine aces and one kill. Thomas led the offense with 19 kills, eight digs, three aces and three blocks. Crawford added 14 digs. Hunter chipped in eight kills and added two blocks.

Bancroft was also thankful for the Maplewood community that traveled to Mechanicsburg to support the team. Travel was treacherous Friday due to winter weather, but Bancroft said without the fans in the stands supporting the Lady Tigers, her team may not have come out on top.

Alex Topor can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at atopor@meadvilletribune.com.