Wood tested, but prevailed

Momentum in sports is big. But what happens when no one establishes momentum? That's what happened throughout most of the first set between Maplewood and Bishop Canevin Saturday morning in the quarterfinals of the PIAA Class A championships.

It is up to mental toughness and seeing who is standing in the end. 

​And when to call timeouts.

Canevin got a short run and led 22-20 in the first set. Maplewood coach Sheila Bancroft took a timeout.

We had our backs up against the wall," she said, Then they rattled off four straight points to go up 24-22.

Canevin coach Angela Wyman throws up a T.

Then it went back and fourth until it ended 27-25 for the Tigers.

"I have to go back to our practice gym," Bancroft said. "I put them through a lot of mental drills.,, I think mental toughness comes from some of those tough drills in practice."

​The second set was a little more business as usual for Maplewood, but not without being challenged. It started out much the same with no one taking control when Wood finally got a little breathing room going up 17-13 only to watch Canevin battle back. But Wood had a bit more in the tank and finished off Canevin 25-19.

Canevin wasn't done. They came out in the third and appeared to be cruising to a set win Even Bancroft's timeout down 7-3 didn't seem to help and they found themselves down 11-3.

But they began stringing three and four points together and kept chipping away. 12-7, 17-13 then they tied it up at 19 a piece.

Wood took the first lead of the match at 23-22 and managed to finish the match with a 26-24 win

The win puts the defending state champion Tigers in the state semi-finals against Elk County Catholic Tuesday night a 6 p.m. at Warren High School. The match will be live streamed by our friends at YDL Sports network.

Bancroft lost three key players from last year's squad, but still find her team battling it out against the best Class A has to offer.

The team had 43 kills including 21 from senior Elizabeth Hunter. Savannah O'Hara also stepped up big-time with a dozen kills.

Maggie means was stellar again setting 40 of those points.
​
They also had 5 aces.

Bree Neely was between the floor and the ball al night with 22 digs. In fact not many kills went uncontested with the team recording 66 digs with only nine errors.

They manage five solid blocks as well. Canevin was a tough opponent. "A huge test. Every game here is going to be tight . You shouldn't win an easy match (at this point). I can't believe (the Canevin game) was just three sets. I felt like we were in a five game marathon," Bancroft said. "It was a ball control game."
She said it was about keeping the ball in play hoping the other team made the mistake.

Bancroft said about those timeouts that she hopes she says the right things. "I try to show them I'm not panicking and (the players) shouldn't panic either. Just relax and play your kind of game. You're a good team. That's why you're here."

She praised her coaching staff for keeping their eyes glued on what the players need. "I have three great coaches on the bench here. More eyes makes definitely helps out."

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