The match ended on Anna Wittman’s net-skimming ace. With the win, the Falcons (20-4) advanced to their third straight district final in as many seasons under coach Tyler Conley.
“We know we can do so well in this tournament, and we saw ourselves going under expectations and not playing as well as we thought we could, so we turned it around,” said Catrine, who finished with 41 assists. “We just started to click and bring everyone together.
“Last year we were knocked out earlier than we thought we should have been, so it’s sort of redemption time. We have a goal ahead of us, and we want to accomplish it.”
The Spartans (15-10), playing in their first sectional final, came out strong with some success at the net blocking Fenwick’s balanced attack. The lead changed hands four times in the first game before the Falcons were able to gradually string enough points together for the five-point win.
Valley View stayed close to start the second set, but after taking an 8-7 advantage, Fenwick answered with a 6-0 run behind Catherine Richards’ serving and the Falcons finished on a 7-1 run.
The Spartans were able to go on a run of their own in the final set, stringing together eight straight points with libero Caitlyn Doles on the serve and Fenwick again struggling to hit around the block. Claire Harvey had three kills — two on blocks — on that run, while Macy Roell also added a kill block and Abby Coulter a hard-hitting kill.
Fenwick finally was forced to call a timeout after Bailey DeGroat’s block dropped for a point to make it 15-8 for Valley View, and that’s when the Falcons began to adjust.
“I think it was a lot of them — give them credit — but we also weren’t doing our job, swinging right into the block or putting our sets too tight and not allowing the hitters to do their job,” Conley said. “At the end of the game, we started controlling the game on serves. They were struggling to get No. 9 (Coulter) going offensively, so we were able to get easy digs and get back into a system and make the plays offensively. We were in system, and they were out of system.”
Graceann Gavigan (11 kills) and Blaise Chaney (10 kills) led the Falcon offense, while libero Gwyn Oliver paced the defense with 20 digs.
“It was our passing that hurt us,” Valley View coach Mel Dumanlang said. “We couldn’t adjust. They had a quick offense, and we couldn’t do a quicker defense on our end. We kept up with them, but they are a good team. They are the top-ranked team here, so I can’t say it was a bad match. For the most part, all I wanted was for the girls to keep a good attitude, and they kept fighting.”
Valley View ends its season as the winningest team in program history, which Dumanlang said dates back to the late 1970s.
Fenwick moves on to a 3 p.m. district final next Saturday at Fairmont’s Trent Arena. The Falcons will meet the winner of Monday’s match between Graham and Kenton Ridge.
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