HAGERSTOWN – On the Saturday morning of Aug. 30, the South Hagerstown High School crowds started to roll in for junior varsity and varsity women’s volleyball as their Rebels took on the Fort Hill Sentinels.
The junior varsity team took to the court first, and both teams struggled early on as they exchanged serves back and forth with neither team getting an early advantage. Serves fell short of the net and there was an obvious issue with team communication.
Fort Hill were the first to solve these issues and started to pull ahead until a time out was called so that the Rebels could get their game plan together.
This was just what the home team needed to get back on track, and the first game ended with a close score of 25-21 with the Rebels coming out on top.
These two teams were evenly matched and put on an exciting show for the crowd which was eager for the action to continue in game two. The momentum shifted in the direction of the Rebels early as they built up a five-point lead. The Sentinels struggled to get back into the game as South High resolved their earlier problems with communication and out on a strong showing both offensively and defensively.
Fort Hill was not out of the game yet and quickly caught back up and would eventually tie the score back up at 12. The tough competition from the visiting team must have motivated the Rebels, and they quickly rallied to regain their lead which they would hold for the remainder of the game. In a two-game sweep, South High won the series, 25-17.
Junior Varisty: Fort Hill- 0 South High- 2
The great showing from the junior varsity team fired up the crowd, and the excitement in the gym intensified as the varsity series began. It became clear early that this was going to be a tough game for both teams with long exchanges of offense and two solid defenses.
In the first exciting few minutes of play, the Rebels in their green and black uniforms edged ahead with a 10-5 lead. The excited crowd cheered each long series and for every hard-earned point as the lead bounced back and forth between each team. It was a hard-fought opening game, but the Sentinels managed to secure the victory with a score of 25-20.
A stunned crowd watched as Fort Hill poured it on early in game two, quickly scoring eight points to South High’s zero. This was not due to lack of effort by the Rebels. They stayed in the hunt for every point but just seemed to fall short. The Sentinels were relentless as they realized they had the upper hand and dominated the home team in game two beating them 25-13.
Things seemed bleak for the home team as game three began, but South High was not going to give in. They pulled together as a team and took an early lead. Both teams battled hard which brought the crowd to their feet. Solid domination at the net would help South High get back into the series as they won game three in a close match, 25-23.
The roar of the crowd continued as they showed support for all the young ladies who were showing amazing effort and determination. Both teams exchanged serves in game four as each team tried to gain the upper hand. Two of the longest points were played in this round in the best of five series, as neither team wanted to make a mistake and let their opponent slip ahead. This was without a doubt the hardest played game of the series, and despite showing a great deal of heart the Rebels would fall to the Sentinels, 25-20.
Varsity: Fort Hill- 3 South High- 1
