As the points accumulated, as kills fell and players dove for balls and the dream of a Western Highlands Conference volleyball title inched ever closer to becoming reality, Kara Overholt kept thinking a simple thought.
“We’ve got to finish,” Overholt said. “We can’t stop. Don’t let up.”
Which is exactly what Polk County did.
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At least until that whole postgame celebration thing began.
The Wolverines did Wednesday night what many didn’t think possible – defeat defending 2A state champion Hendersonville. Polk County handed the Bearcats a 25-22, 16-25, 25-22, 25-18 setback, ending Hendersonville’s 29-match conference winning streak and leaving the two teams tied atop the WHC standings as co-champions.
And were victory not enough, the news got even better for Polk County shortly after the match. With the two teams sharing the conference title, WHC tiebreaking procedures came into play to determine which team would be the league’s top seed and which would be second for the state 2A playoffs. Per conference rules, head-to-head results were considered first, then how the teams fared against the third-place team, fourth-place team and so on. With those steps not breaking the tie, league ruled mandated a coin flip or drawing.
That drawing was held with parents and players from both schools watching. Hendersonville head coach Erica Cantrell drew first and pulled a 2, with Polk County head coach Molly Hill drawing a 1, meaning the Bearcats will be the second seed and Polk County will be the WHC’s top seed. Two implications from that: 1) Polk County will earn a much higher seed when the state 2A playoff brackets are released Thursday, as all No. 1 seeds are seeded first, then the No. 2 seeds, and 2) if there is a playoff rematch between the two teams, it will be held at Polk County.
“I was so nervous,” said Hill about the draw, held after a lengthy delay while Hendersonville made calls to confirm the tiebreaking process. “I think that’s the most nervewracking thing I’ve done all season.”
With a first-year coach and four first-year players seeing action on Wednesday, perhaps it was only fitting the night ended with the Wolverines (17-5, 11-1) owning a share of first place. Polk County forged its triumph in part by following Hendersonville’s lead, attacking the net aggressively on offense and defense and perhaps looking for big kills more than at any point this season. That was all according to plan.
“Hendersonville is a big team and a smart team,” Hill said. “We had to play their game and try to outsmart them. To beat a team like Hendersonville under that amount of pressure, it’s a great win. I’m just really, really proud of them.”
The match’s tide turned in Polk County’s direction late in the third set.
The teams split the first two sets, with Hendersonville winning the second and using that momentum to build a 7-2 advantage in the third. Polk rallied to within a point at 10-9, but the Bearcats (21-2, 11-1) began to pull away, relying on a run of strong serves and well-placed dinks at the net to build a 18-12 lead.
The Wolverines cut that deficit to two at 18-16, but still trailed 22-19 when a Bearcat error brought one point, Sarah Phipps slammed home another off a quick set and another Hendersonville miscue evened the score at 22. Following a Hendersonville timeout, Phipps hammered another point off a Bearcat block for a 23-22 lead, and Ashley Love’s ace made it 24-22 and led to another Bearcat timeout. Which led to another Love ace to wrap up the set and give Polk a 2-1 edge.
The teams swapped points in the fourth set until Polk surged in front at 9-6. The margin grew to four at 12-8, then to five at 16-11 on a Lily Owens kill.
“It seemed unreal. I was just trying to stay focused,” Phipps said as the fourth-set lead grew. “I kept thinking, we’re going to win and share the conference championship and have a shot at the top seed for the playoffs and, whoa, there’s a ball coming at me. I had to try to put those things out of my head.”
But sensing victory, Polk surged ahead by seven at 19-12 on a Reagan Waddell spike, then reached 22-15 on two kills by Phipps. Moments later, match point in hand, Owens ripped a kill that the Bearcats were unable to return, sending Polk players and coaches leaping joyously across the court.
“I am so proud of this team,” said Phipps, who with Overholt was part of the last Polk County team to beat Hendersonville, that in September 2012 when the Bearcats last lost a conference match. “Every single person on this team stepped up tonight. I am so proud. I had four straight losses to them, so it’s great to beat them after those.”
“We were confident, and it was a big advantage playing at home,” Overholt said. “We came out tonight saying we can beat them, we can beat them. Our coaches believed in us, which also made a difference.”
And that belief proved itself with a share of the conference title and a small piece of paper with a ‘1’ on it that Hill said would long be treasured.
“I knew all along we were good enough,” Hill said of winning the WHC crown. “I said from Day 1 that this group could go far. It was more about them believing it. I had to work to get them to believe it.
“This feels awesome. I am so proud of these girls.”
Phipps had 18 kills and 11 digs for Polk County, which also got five kills, 35 assists and 14 digs from Overholt. Owens had six kills and 28 digs, with Kendall Hall adding 29 digs and Addie Lynch 12 digs.
