The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Sports

November 1, 2009

Saints march to second straight title

By Dave Morrison

When it came down to it, teammate beat talent as Victory Baptist Academy defeated Beth Haven 25-23, 26-24, 25-14 to capture the West Virginia Christian Athletic Association state championship Saturday at Appalachian Bible College.

It was the second straight state championship for the Saints.

They might not have had the talent in spots as did Beth Haven, but what they did have was a team of equals playing in tandem.

And when the Saints needed points, that’s when their strength came out.

The first two sets of the title game could have gone either way.

Down the stretch in the first set, the Saints found openings in the Beth Haven defense and exploited that by using passes and sets to their hitters who found the openings.

In the second set, the score was tied at 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24 before the Saints ended the proceedings right there with back-to-back points.

“I told our girls that Beth Haven was a great team, they have some quality players, and that they could expect them to make some great plays,” Victory coach Mark Fizer said. “And when they did that, they couldn’t let it shake them up.”

“They had a solid defense and they brought back just about everything we put over there,” Beth Haven coach Regina Vance said. “We needed a few breaks there and we just didn’t get them. But they have a great team.”

The Saints then rolled in the final set, with Carrie Shrewsbury firing an ace and Megan Reedy came up with a nice play as the match came to a quick end.

“They have some outstanding players, no doubt,” Fizer said. “We just have a good team of solid girls. I knew we had a chance (to repeat) because as the year went on they started to play together, to work together and they were pulling for one another.”

“I’m not sure there is much we could have done to change the outcome (of the first two sets),” Vance said. “The girls held out pretty good but as they fell behind they got a little more dejected.”

“I think the first two sets rattled them with the way they turned out,” Fizer said.

Fizer said his second title was sweeter than the first.

“Just because of the time I had to put in to this team, as much hard work as we put in, this one is sweeter,” Fizer said. “It’s special to me. And to these girls. It’s hard to put into words how much this means because I know how hard this team worked.”

As a perfect ending to a team-oriented champion, the Saints placed three players on the all-state squad, Amanda Butcher, Shrewsbury and Reedy and three different players on the all-tournament team Kaitlyn Burgess, Gabby Reed and Hope Thomas.

— E-mail: demorrison@

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