Ripley's Cinderella season didn't quite have a storybook ending.
Ripley's Cinderella season didn't quite have a storybook ending.
Musselman outlasted the Vikings for a 25-23, 25-23, 21-25, 23-25, 15-11 victory Saturday afternoon in the Class AAA championship at the Civic Center.
Wirt County defeated Greater Beckley Christian 23-25, 25-13, 25-16, 23-25, 15-11 in the Class A title game and Oak Glen swept past James Monroe 25-15, 25-17, 25-10 in the Class AA championship contest. (For results and all-tournament teams, see Page 2D).
Ripley was making its first state tournament appearance and until this season, hadn't won a sectional title. The Vikings (50-8-3) knocked off defending state champion Parkersburg in the section finals before finishing runner-up to the Big Reds in the regional. Ripley, second in the final WVRSN.com poll, also captured the Mountain State Athletic Conference title.
"Our first tournament [of the year] we didn't even make it out of our pool,'' said Ripley junior Lexy Kessel, who was an all-tournament selection.
"It wasn't looking good at the beginning, but we pulled it out. We have a lot of team unity. In the past, we didn't get along very well, but we all came together this year. It's like we're all really good friends. This has been the best year of my life.''
The Vikings lost the first two sets to the top-ranked Applemen in Saturday's finals before rallying to win the next two and force a fifth set. Ripley had five-set victories over Woodrow Wilson in Friday's opening round and Hedgesville in the semifinals.
"My girls played hard all year,'' said Ripley coach Corby Stalnaker, who returns five out of his starting rotation. "You can't count us out. We hang around [and] we play ball. I can't ask for more out of them.''
Ripley's Cinderella season didn't quite have a storybook ending.
Musselman outlasted the Vikings for a 25-23, 25-23, 21-25, 23-25, 15-11 victory Saturday afternoon in the Class AAA championship at the Civic Center.
Wirt County defeated Greater Beckley Christian 23-25, 25-13, 25-16, 23-25, 15-11 in the Class A title game and Oak Glen swept past James Monroe 25-15, 25-17, 25-10 in the Class AA championship contest. (For results and all-tournament teams, see Page 2D).
Ripley was making its first state tournament appearance and until this season, hadn't won a sectional title. The Vikings (50-8-3) knocked off defending state champion Parkersburg in the section finals before finishing runner-up to the Big Reds in the regional. Ripley, second in the final WVRSN.com poll, also captured the Mountain State Athletic Conference title.
"Our first tournament [of the year] we didn't even make it out of our pool,'' said Ripley junior Lexy Kessel, who was an all-tournament selection.
"It wasn't looking good at the beginning, but we pulled it out. We have a lot of team unity. In the past, we didn't get along very well, but we all came together this year. It's like we're all really good friends. This has been the best year of my life.''
The Vikings lost the first two sets to the top-ranked Applemen in Saturday's finals before rallying to win the next two and force a fifth set. Ripley had five-set victories over Woodrow Wilson in Friday's opening round and Hedgesville in the semifinals.
"My girls played hard all year,'' said Ripley coach Corby Stalnaker, who returns five out of his starting rotation. "You can't count us out. We hang around [and] we play ball. I can't ask for more out of them.''
Musselman seemed headed for a three-game sweep after winning the first two games 25-23 and 25-23. Ripley had a chance to win the second set and draw even, but let a 23-20 led slip away down the stretch.
The Vikings took advantage of Applemen errors in the third set for a 25-21 win, then evened the match at 2-all with a tough 25-23 victory in the fourth set. Ripley trailed 20-18 in the fourth, but went on a 7-3 run for the win.
Ripley jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the fifth and final set to 15 points. Musselman rallied and sophomore Taylor Oates's ace gave the Applemen a 7-6 lead and they never trailed again. Senior Erica Manor, who is headed to Division I Liberty, put an exclamation point on Musselman's first volleyball title with a kill to end it at 15-10.
The Applemen (43-1-4), state runners-up last year, lost only one match this season to an out-of-state opponent. Musselman breezed through the first round and semifinals of states with straight-set victories before getting a test from Ripley.
"[Ripley] made us earn everything,'' said Musselman coach Shawn Martz. "They pushed us to the limit, [but] our kids have been resilient all year long. Even when we're not playing quite as well as we're used to, these kids find a way to win. [We] had a target on our back all year long. Our kids played amazingly consistent. We got everybody's best match every time out. Some of these kids worked hard for six or seven years.''
Wirt County won its fourth straight A championship and seventh overall, but had to earn it with a five-set win over No. 5 Greater Beckley Christian, which finished as runner-up for the second straight year. Huntington East is the only other school to take four straight titles and did so under a one-class system from 1985-88.
The No. 3 Tigers showed a few chinks in their armor this season - finishing runner-up in the regional - but flashed their usual dominance when they hit the Civic Center floor. Wirt upset No. 1 Doddridge County in Friday's opening round, then disposed of No. 2 Charleston Catholic in straight sets in the semis.
Oak Glen won its third state championship easily over unranked James Monroe, which finished as state runner-up in its first tournament in school history. The No. 5 Bears downed No. 1 Philip Barbour in Friday's first round in a grueling five sets, then cruised past unranked Summers County in straight sets in the semis before beating the unranked Mavericks for the title.
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