CHARLOTTESVILLE — Eastern Hancock gave state-ranked, traditional 2A powerhouse Wapahani all it could handle in Wednesday’s Mid-Eastern Conference volleyball match at Eastern Hancock High School.
That was the unfortunate part for the Royals, the 2022 state champs and MEC leaders were able to handle it.
In four tightly-contested sets, Eastern Hancock lost 3-1 in the matchup of teams that came in unbeaten in conference play.
Wapahani improved to 12-1 overall and 3-0 in the MEC.
The Raiders have lost only six sets all year, three of those were in a sweep by Class 4A No. 2 Yorktown, ranked No. 23 nationally in the MaxPreps.com poll. The other two were in a five-set win over Delta in their season opener.
Eastern Hancock dropped to 12-4 and 4-1 after Wednesday’s 22-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-23 loss.
“Wapahani, they’re [state-ranked] in 2A for a reason. They know how to place the ball. They did a nice job of getting points when they needed points. Our struggle tonight was digging ourselves a hole and having to climb out of a hole each time,” Eastern Hancock coach Cory Rainbolt said. “I’m happy with how we played and happy with how we competed. We didn’t roll over when we could have very easily rolled over. Here and there, a couple of balls go our way, we would have been good.
“It’s a matter of grinding through and winning the big games. We’re getting there.”
Tied 1-1, the Royals had opportunities to win both the third and fourth sets.
With the score 6-6 in the third, Eastern Hancock went on a 6-2 run. Kaitlyn Lowes and Alana Eastridge each had service aces. Frosh Josie Hunt and senior Ellie Meyer had kills and Meyer and Cami Knight combined for a block.
Wapahani came back to tie the set at 13, 14, and 16 before two more aces from Lowes gave Eastern an 18-16 lead.
The Royals led 20-18, after a Meyer kill, and 23-22, after a Wapahani service error, but were unable to close out the set.
Wapahani’s Sophia Beeson had a kill and followed it with a service ace on a ball the Royals defense let drop just inside the out-of-bounds line. An Eastern attack error gave the set and 2-1 lead to the Raiders.
The Royals trailed as much as 8-1 in the fourth before chipping away and finally forcing a tie.
A combination block from the front row of Meyer, Lowes and Knight followed a Wapahani service error. A second straight block, this one from Knight and Meyer, tied it up 16-16.
The Royals forced ties at 17, 20 and 21, but could never get completely over the hump.
A Knight kill on an overpass tied it at 17. A Lowes service ace knotted it at 20 and a Hunt kill made it 21-all.
With Wapahani up 23-21, Meyer got a block. At match-point, 24-22, Meyer had a kill, but the Raiders scored the next point to secure the conference victory.
“One of our goals this year was to get Wapahani, unfortunately we didn’t get it,” Rainbolt said. “It was one of the best games I’ve seen us play. I think we fought hard. We take us out of those hole situations and it’s a different ball game.”
Eastern was down 4-0 in its lone set victory. It forced nine first-set ties, finally getting a lead at 18-17.
After a tie at 19-19, the Royals went on a 3-0 run. It started with a kill from outside hitter Hayden Collins and ended with a tip-kill from setter Blair Vancamp. Knight finished off the lone set victory for the Royals with a kill.
The Raiders appeared to be taking control of the match in the second set. After a 9-9 tie, the seventh tie of the set, they scored six of the next seven points. Wapahani had 11 kills in its final 16 points.
“We dug some great balls, our girls were in the right places, we just didn’t get a couple of balls to go our way, that’s volleyball,” Rainbolt said. “Every point counts.”
Meyer had, unofficially, a team-best 13 kills and was part of five blocks. Lowes had 11 kills and five service aces. Hunt had eight kills and Knight had seven kills and was part of three blocks. Eastridge had two service aces.
“These girls have fight in them,” Rainbolt added. “Now, we just have to fight for the big games and finish them.”
Eastern Hancock returns to action Saturday at Tri.
