WAYNESBORO, Pa. – It began with a bang, and it ended with a crescendo Tuesday night.
The match was so important that the massive bleachers on both sides of the Waynesboro Area Senior High School gymnasium were opened to accommodate fans of the Waynesboro Maidens and their nearby rivals, the Chambersburg Trojans.
One team’s season would end, and the other team’s season would continue.
And, when the first set was completed, the visiting Trojans held a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five District 3-6A first-round playoff contest. The Trojans fell behind 6-1 before rallying for a 25-21 victory.
Suddenly, Waynesboro was behind the proverbial eight ball. What to do?
Somehow, some way, the Maidens made a way and tied the match after winning the second set. It was a bit more convincing than Chambersburg’s first-set win, as Waynesboro won 25-16.
Was Waynesboro worried after losing the first game?
“No, not at all,” said junior outside hitter Maddie Nystrom, who made solid contributions in all four phases – serving, serve-receive, setting and attacking. “We are kind of used to not starting well and coming up. Even though we lost that set, we didn’t give up. We were still smiling, still laughing. We were working together, we were talking, we were doing everything. We just did it at a higher level.”
It wasn’t easy, and even with Waynesboro leading 17-9, there was a “you never know what can happen next” vibe in the building. But the Maidens held firm, and instead of trailing 2-0 in the match, they evened the score with a strong kill by Nystrom.
The pressure was on both teams, but especially the home team. As the higher seed — eighth compared to Chambersburg’s ninth — Waynesboro was expected to win the match.
As the third set began, Waynesboro fell behind 1-0 but scored on a side out to regain the serve. Nystrom served for six straight points, getting help from a kill by Aldrich.
Chambersburg scratched out some points, and with Waynesboro leading 9-6, the Maidens scored 10 of the next 13 points to forge a 19-9 lead en route to a 25-15 win and a 2-1 lead.
Now the pressure was on Chambersburg, and the atmosphere inside the gym was about to reach another level. The energy in the gym was through the roof on both sides. Whenever the Trojans scored a point, blocked a return, served for an ace, and whenever Waynesboro executed an impossible serve-receive or got a rafter-shaking kill, there was a unified scream that sounded like the screams coming from a haunted shack at a theme park.
That was the atmosphere in the fourth set as the Maidens began to rally from a 16-9 deficit. Nystrom started the rally with a side-out kill. But the Trojans responded with a side-out kill of their own to make it 17-11.
No problem. Waynesboro got the serve on a quick side-out point but couldn’t hold serve. Same with Chambersburg. However, for every point the Maidens scored, the Trojans responded with a point, meaning, if things continued this way – with Chambersburg holding a five or six-point lead, time was on the Trojans’ side.
Trailing 20-14 and running out of opportunities, Waynesboro managed to string two points together. Aldrich got the side-out kill, and Lylah Shacreaw served for a point aided by a Chambersburg error (four hits) to make the score 20-16.
The Trojans scored a side-out point, and then, as if on cue, the Maidens began to put the pressure back on Chambersburg. Trailing 22-17, Waynesboro scored five points to tie the game at 22. Nystrom recorded three kills during the rally, and, suddenly, a Maidens win was within reach.
With Eskridge serving, Waynesboro moved to the brink of winning the match. However, a hitting error sent the ball back to Chambersburg. The Trojans tied the set, but Chloe Shacreaw scored on a side-out kill and was on serve.
Chambersburg was on the verge of winning when it scored back-to-back points to lead 26-25. However, with its backs against the wall, Waynesboro regained the lead behind two thunderous kills by Aldrich and a 27-26 lead.
The Trojans tied the game on a kill by Marlie Newman. Waynesboro needed two points to win, and the Maidens somehow got them. Aldrich scored on a side-out kill for a 28-27 lead. With the tension so thick you could cut it with a chainsaw, Mouer’s serve made it to the Chambersburg side. The Trojans were unable to return the ball, and the gym erupted in cheers.
The win was nothing short of historic.
“It is, definitely,” Eskridge said. “After everything we’ve gone through. We decided we are coming together and show everyone who we are, and that’s been our whole question: Who are we as a team? This night makes it more special because coming in we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. But we work together so easily, and we mesh together.”
The Maidens will face their toughest test yet Saturday when they visit No. 1 seed Wilson in the quarterfinals.
