At Campbell County and Scott, Thursday’s word of the day might be – familiarity.
For the fourth time this season, the Camels and Eagles will come to volleyball contretemps. But Thursday’s match at Harrison County will be a lot more important – it’s for the 10th Region championship.
First serve is at 6:30 p.m.
Scott had the easier time in Wednesday’s semifinals – the Eagles dispatched Bracken County, 3-0 (25-10, 25-8, 25-13). Campbell County struggled late before knocking off Harrison County, 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-22).
Scott’s win Wednesday had milestones – sophomore Milyn Minor’s 16 kills included her 1,000th in her career, and setter Ryann Grigsby recorded her 1,000th assist this season.
“I was kind of shocked, honestly,” Grigsby said.
Minor doesn’t think about records.
“I know that they’re there,” she said. “I just work on my game.”
Eagles coach Andrea Sullivan said Minor’s 1,000 kills is a big deal.
“She’s been playing as an eighth-grader,” Sullivan said. “It takes years to get that, and she accomplished it in such a short time as a sophomore. That says a lot about her and her competitiveness.”
It’s been a few years since either team hoisted a trophy – Campbell County won over Scott in 2019, and the Eagles took revenge in 2020.
September was a good month for Campbell County against the Eagles – the Camels won both regular season matches, 2-1 on Sept. 15 and 3-2 on Sept. 27. Scott avenged those losses by winning the 37th District championship with a 3-2 triumph Oct. 19 at Bishop Brossart.
“We do want revenge,” Campbell County coach Mikah Freppon said. “At the same time, they’re a good team.”
Scott (24-15) was missing a starter Wednesday– junior Elise Manhardt was out with a knee injury. Sophomore Payton Grigsby replaced her.
“I was a little scared of making a mistake,” Payton Grigsby – triplet sister with Ryann and KaLeigh – said. “I think I did pretty well overall, better than when we switched before.”
Didn’t seem to matter – the Eagles 12-5 first-set run included Minor’s 1,000th kill, which gave the Eagles a 24-10 lead. She couldn’t remember who passed the ball, but she said Ryann Grigsby set her up.
“I swung down the line on the outside,” Minor said.
Bracken County was in a bit of unfamiliar territory, their last trip to the semifinals in 2019.
“We knew what might happen when we came here,” Bracken County coach Julie Krift said. “We traditionally don’t make it to the second round of region. All the girls knew that it was going to be a tough game.”
Bracken County (23-16) opened the third set with its best run – the Polar Bears led, 5-2. It didn’t last – an 8-3 Scott surge put the Eagles ahead, 10-8.
Campbell County’s Emma Manser and Lexi Scharold each had 11 kills and five blocks. Ella Thorwarth added 12 digs, and Hope Hamilton served 31 assists.
Harrison County coach Dr. Bill Faulkner thought the Camels’ size was a factor.
“We’ve had problems all year with size in the sense that we’re not very tall,” Faulkner said.
The Camels (18-13) opened their first set with a 12-5 run on the way to a 20-10 lead.
Harrison County (28-10) took a 10-9 second-set advantage. That wasn’t the best run – the Fillies pulled to within 24-22 in the third.
“I think we just got a little too comfy,” Freppon said.
After the win, Scharold thought mutual familiarity with each other’s games will be a challenge.
“As much as we know their moves, they know our moves,” Scharold said. “So I think it’s going to be really important for us to try to figure out to get around what they know about us.”