Regional Volleyball: Woodrow Wilson, Shady Spring and Greenbrier West earn State Tournament berths

Beckley tops South, while Shady beats Ripley and West ousts Mount View

Woodrow Wilson, Shady Spring and Greenbrier West have been frequent visitors to the State Tournament in recent years.

Monday night, the three volleyball titans secured regional titles in their respective classes to once again secure a spot in the Big Dance inside the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.

The State Volleyball Tournament starts Tuesday with the championships decided Thursday.

The Flying Eagles were the No. 3-seed in the AAAA South Region and matched up with No. 10-seed Parkersburg South who had upset No. 2-seed George Washington in the opening round.

Early on in each set, the Patriots started quickly, only to see Woodrow Wilson come storming back.

A kill from Kami Cogar and an ace from senior Londen Baker finished off a 25-19 opening set win for the home team who appeared ready for a repeat in set two.

Trailing 13-11, Woodrow ran off seven straight points which included four kills from senior Anya Hasan, two from Mollie Smith and an ace from Kaelyn Meadows.

The advantage was still four points late (22-18) when the Patriots caught fire behind senior Shyanne Hays to run off five straight points.

Hays sealed the set for South with a kill and a block for the 25-23 win to even the match.

The third set was another tight battle which stood tied at 17-apiece before the Flying Eagles started to pull away.

Kills by Hasan and fellow-senior Zoie Vance, along with block from Addie Ellis gave Woodrow a three-point edge that it never surrendered.

Leading 22-19, Hasan scored on a tip and a kill before Ellis' blast ended the set for a 2-1 margin.

In the final set of the night, the Flying Eagles fell behind 7-2, but fought back to tie the set at 13-13.

Three kills from Smith and an ace from Vance sparked a 6-1 run that ended in a 25-21 win, giving Woodrow Wilson its fifth straight regional title and fifth straight state tournament berth.

Hasan led the Flying Eagles with 26 kills, while senior Reagan Rist had 11 kills and Smith added 10 winners.

Senior Makayla Adkins kept the Woodrow machine running smoothly with 50 assists on the night, while Baker had 30 receptions and 32 digs.

Woodrow Wilson head coach Bre Rhodes talked about the win and heading back to states.

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Heading into Monday's clash with the Vikings, Shady Spring had not dropped a set in the AAA Region 3 tournament, but Ripley had thrown a scare into the Tigers in the first meeting Thursday.

With its season on the line, Ripley once again put up a stiff battle in set one before falling 25-22.

Going forward however, the Tiger brought out the claws to win set two, 25-16 and the final set, 25-13.

The win was the seventh straight regional title for Shady Spring and sends the Tigers back to Charleston for the ninth consecutive season.

First year Shady Spring head coach Trina Olson talked about the win and the pressure to make another run to states.

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Greenbrier West entered the Class A Region 3 Tournament as the defending state champions.

After a grueling regular season schedule, the Cavaliers swept Webster County in the opening round before beating Mount View 3-1 Thursday.

Monday it was another showdown with the Golden Knights, but it was all Greenbrier West, 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-12).

The win secured a state tournament bid for the ninth straight year and the eighth regional title over that span for the ladies from Charmco.