WORTON — Kent County might get the rematch with Snow Hill that it rightly deserves, but first must get past Pocomoke today in the opening round of the Class 1A East Region II volleyball tournament.
The winner will travel to No. 2 seed Snow Hill for a region semifinal.
Kent and Snow Hill faced off in the locals’ regular-season finale Oct. 21 in Trojan Arena. It was Senior Day for the home team.
In a back-and-forth match that went the full five sets, and lasted more than two hours, the Trojans appeared to have won the decisive fifth set, 15-12.
But on Snow Hill’s appeal, the referees ruled that Kent’s hitter was over the net on the point.
Then, a lengthy discussion followed about how many time-outs each coach had remaining.
After much delay, the point was replayed.
Kent County’s serve went into the net, wiping out the 15-12 win and starting a run of three straight points that pushed Snow Hill out in front, 15-14.
KCHS deadlocked at 15-all on a Snow Hill attacking error, but was unable to move forward.
On the Trojans’ serve, and following a sustained volley, the visiting Eagles found a hole in the middle of the court to regain the lead for good.
Snow Hill (8-7) wrapped up the victory with a serving ace, 17-15.
“I feel the Snow Hill match was taken from us,” Kent County coach Michelle Phillips told The Evening Enterprise in an email.
After dropping the first set, 25-16, the Trojans won a closely contested second set, 25-23, on a Laila Sidky kill.
It was back and forth early until Sidky’s ace leveled the score at 8-8, fueling a run of five straight points. Aaliyah Dawson’s block at the net gave the locals a 9-8 lead, and they led the rest of the way.
Kent County won the third set, 25-21, rallying from an 18-16 deficit to take the lead for good, 19-18, on an ace during Emerence Boutaud’s three-point service run.
Kent led by as many as seven points in the fourth set, 19-12, scoring eight straight points during Dawson’s service, but Snow Hill closed the set on a 5-0 run for a 25-22 win that sent the match to a fifth set.
The final set was like the previous four — back and fourth.
During Zadalyn Spittel’s service, Kent County scored four points in a row to get to 13-10, moved to 14-12 on a Snow Hill long hit and appeared to have won on Love Jackson’s kill — only to have the 15th point taken away by the refs.
“The girls played hard,” Phillips said Monday, still pondering the match of a week ago. “They started off rough but fought back to not only compete but gain momentum for the playoffs.”
As the Trojans head to Pocomoke today, Phillips said the focus in practices over the last week has been on limiting unforced errors.
In order to advance, “We need to execute the basics by getting serves in, putting our offense in play by limiting hitting errors, and improving defense and giving our setter an opportunity to share the ball,” she said.
“Our goal is to play with a purpose in everything we do,” Phillips said in the email. “This is a strong team and they need to know and understand how much as their coach I believe in them and their abilities. Together Everyone Achieves More — that is the foundation of our TEAM.”
The winner of the Kent-Pocomoke match will travel to Snow Hill on either Friday or Saturday.
Of note, two days after Snow Hill drove away from Kent County with a disputed 3-2 win, Pocomoke (6-8) at home defeated Snow Hill, 3-1.
Meantime, in the top half of the bracket, No. 1 seed North Dorchester (9-6) awaits the winner of today’s first-round pairing of Mardela at Colonel Richardson.
The region final is Nov. 6 at the higher seed.