York Wildcats Fall to Washington Academy in Class B Volleyball Championship
AUGUSTA, Maine – The York Wildcats volleyball team saw their championship run end Saturday with a 3-2 loss to Washington Academy in the Maine Class B championship game. Despite a resilient comeback, York was ultimately defeated after a hard-fought battle at the Augusta Civic center.
York Head Coach Michael Hill acknowledged the match’s difficulty. “It was going to be a tough match,” Hill said. “We had a lot of holes that we fell into early,and we were able to climb out of them and able to get it to a fifth set.”
York forced a decisive fifth set after facing a challenging match.Hill explained the team focused on chipping away at deficits to reach a fifth-and-deciding set. “We were able to find the strength to hammer thru it,” Hill said. “It’s such a momentum game,and as soon as the momentum shifted,we took that fourth set and rode it out all the way to the end of the fifth.”
The fourth set saw Washington Academy initially leading 12-6 before York rallied with six consecutive points to tie the set at 12-12.The teams traded points, reaching 22-22, then Washington Academy gained game point at 24-23. york battled back to 24-24, and after another Washington Academy point, a serve went long, tying it at 25-25. York then took a 26-25 lead, ultimately winning the set on a block by Sophie coite that ricocheted off a Washington player.”we stayed strong in the head and climbed our way out, and we just missed it at the end,” Hill said.
York won the first set 25-23, overcoming an early 8-2 deficit that prompted a timeout from Hill. however, Washington Academy controlled the second and third sets, despite York starting the third set with a 5-2 lead.
Hill credited Washington Academy’s strategic play. ”They did a great job of spreading the ball around and utilizing all of its hitters,as well as putting the ball in tough spots that York had to scramble for,” he said. “I think one thing (Washington) realized about us is that if they let us hit the ball, we were going to score a lot of points. They really put the ball in tough spots, made our defense scramble and really limited our ability to put the ball away.”
