Fillmore grabs early start, rebound after 3rd set marathon to advance to Class D Qualifier with four-set win over Alexander
PAVILION — While both the boys and girls soccer squads continue to make preparations for States this weekend for not only Section V, but for Allegany County for the first time in nearly 10 years, the Lady Eagles on the volleyball court look to add some more icing on their Section V Championship-winning cake — a concoction that has not been served to the program since 1995.
In order to continue the season of seasons at Fillmore going, one more step must be taken — the pre-Qualifier round for the State Tournament.
To get to the next step above and meet Class D2 champion Pavilion, the Lady Eagles had to go to the home of the Lady Golden Gophers to settle the score with another Class D champion being the Alexander Lady Trojans, the queens of Class D1.
It was a battle that the Lady Eagles and Lady Trojans left everything on the court in, battling straight down to the wire across the entire evening to determine whose season would continue forward, and whose would come to an end.
From the beginning, it was the Lady Eagles that built an immediate opening against Alexander, pushing them to the brink after the first two sets. Then, the Lady Trojans fought back and staved off elimination. But in the fourth and final set, the last shove by Fillmore sent Alexander over the edge, as they bounced back after a third-set marathon, tight-roping their way toward victory by a four-set count on Tuesday in a 25-19, 25-23, 24-26, 25-22 decision to move forward to Thursday’s Qualifier.
“These Lady Eagles just seem to bring it to the court when it’s game time. I just can’t believe how well they continue to play,” said Lady Eagles coach Lacie Fuller. “I felt like the girls came out a lot more relaxed to start the match tonight and they played their best. Alexander is a very good volleyball team, so we knew that we couldn’t afford a slow start. Our communication was on point, and they were hustling hard to every ball. We talked going into the match about not just being happy to be here, but coming out ready to compete.”
Fuller added, “It can be difficult thing to get the competitive juices flowing again after winning Sectionals. I thought the girls played their best match all season, and I think I’ve said that about four times in a row now, and that just shows how much they continue to grow.”
The first two sets of the night was Fillmore’s (13-6) to navigate through to the end, as they battled tooth and nail with Alexander, garnering multiple stretches in each set to cushion their lead against the Lady Trojans, especially in the first set to take the 25-19 win. In the second set, more of a battle developed when Alexander fought back to tie the game down to the wire at 23, putting the pressure on Fillmore to win the set by two straight points.
It was no easy task, but the Lady Eagles managed to stave off the pressure put on by the Class D1 champions to take a 2-0 match lead heading into the decisive third set.
In that third set, Alexander pulled out all the punches to deliver a big blow to the potential straight-set bid with eight straight points to force extra serves after a 24-18 Lady Eagles lead, remaining alive to force continued progression into the fourth set against the Class D3 champions.
“We had them on the ropes at sat at match point. Our crowd was on its feet, one point away and we served them eight straight points to steal the set and stay alive,” Fuller said. “In between the third and fourth set, it doesn’t matter how we get to three wins, it’s more about just getting there. Alexander played their best stretch of volleyball all match, but we felt like they burnt a lot of energy and emotion battling back. If we just got settled in and played like we had been, we would be okay.”
The Lady Eagles would then attempt to reposition themselves in order to close it out in four sets, and it was a set that nearly panned out for the Lady Trojans again. Once more, a lead by as much as six grew in Fillmore’s favor coming down the homestretch, but then was completely erased with seven more points coming in a row for Alexander to take the lead.
But this time, Fillmore was able to halt the strand and start back up again with a strand of their own. Three straight points to close out the match for good after four sets, providing the biggest of rebounds of the night to eliminate the Lady Trojans and ending their season.
“I have to give a ton of credit to our girls, because when victory is that close when you are on the cusp of moving on, only to see it slip through your fingers, that can be a hard thing to recover from,” Fuller said. “They’ve shown that they are a resilient bunch. Our focus in practice was on defense, and Alexander has two tremendous outside hitters. We knew we were going to have to be solid in blocking and passing from the back. Abby Engler played a huge game for us at libero, and kept passing up ball after ball. Our blocking was led by Emma (Cole), she forced a lot of tips and gave us that wall up there.”
Emma Cole led the Lady Eagles offense behind a massive night on the attack, garnering a game-high 24 kills to pair with five aces from the service line and four blocks. On defense, Abby Engler made sure the plays were kept alive, collecting a game-high 26 digs. Up front, setter Zoe Hubbard dished out a whopping 27 assists to pair with four more aces.
Additionally on offense, Jadyn Mucher recorded five aces and chipped in three more kills of her own to round off the Fillmore scoring.
The Lady Eagles have now officially moved onto the Class D State Qualifier stage, a game that will get underway Thursday night with a trip to the Far West Regional on the line, as they now face Class D2 champion Pavilion — an undefeated Lady Golden Gophers squad that has not allowed action to progress past three sets in over two seasons.
First serve between Fillmore and Pavilion will take place at Caledonia-Mumford, beginning at 6 p.m.
