Polk Middle volleyball advances to Blue Ridge title match

Polk County Middle School unleashed its own version of serve and protect Wednesday – and moved a step closer to school history in the process.

Relentlessly pressuring Bethel Middle with its serving attack, Polk protected its unbeaten record with a 25-5, 25-12 victory in Blue Ridge Middle School Conference tournament action at PCMS.

The Wolverines, now 14-0, will host East Division rival Rugby on Monday in the conference championship game after the Raiders upset Macon, the West Division regular season champions. Polk Middle will be vying for its first conference title since 2008 and the first unbeaten season by any girls team at the school. Polk has already defeated Rugby twice this season.

“We’re excited to be in the position we’re in,” said Polk head coach Brandy Alm. “No matter who we play, I think the girls will come out focused and ready to go.”

Certainly that was the case on Wednesday, as Polk wasted no time establishing itself as the better team. The Wolverines rolled to a 10-2 lead in the opening game before a Bethel timeout. Cameron Capozzi then unleashed a flurry of aces that helped extend the lead to 15-2. Bethel scored a single point before Polk ripped off nine more points for a 24-3 advantage, Reagan Waddell with two kills and Sara McCown with four aces in that run. Bethel stopped the streak with two points before a Waddell kill ended the game.

The match’s second game followed the pattern of the first. Polk built a 5-0 lead, then kept extending it before a Bethel timeout with Polk up 13-4. Rotating players in and out, the Wolverines got contributions from a number of players in never letting Bethel climb back into the match en route to the 25-12 win.

“We were very consistent in that area,” Alm said of the team’s serving prowess. “The girls came out calm, focused and ready to play.”