By Blake Colston
Sports Editor
No. 13 McAlester gave Piedmont its best shot Monday in a Class 5A regional championship game at Piedmont High School.
The fourth-ranked Lady Wildcats barely broke a sweat while swatting away the Buffs’ upset bid in a straight sets victory (25-8, 25-16, 25-7) that clinched Piedmont’s second straight trip to the state tournament.
Seniors Kaylie Marshall and Hannah Carlton dominated at the net as the Lady Wildcats played focused, but loose on their way to a fifth straight victory.
Earlier in the day, PHS cruised past Midwest City in straight sets (25-5, 25-15, 25-9) and McAlester edged Elgin in a five-set marathon.
“I think sometimes we were too relaxed, but there was a quiet confidence,” head coach Tom Williams said. “This was a regional we should have won.”
McAlester (16-16) pushed Piedmont in the second set, pulling to within 16-13 before PHS called a timeout. After the break, the Lady ‘Cats were refocused and outscored the Buffaloes 9-3 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
“The seniors were saying in the huddle, ‘this is for state,'” Williams said. “We’ve got to start playing like we’re going to go to state and the (team) responded to it. They did a good job.”
Jordan Hahn’s emphatic kill for the final point of the second set overpowered McAlester and supercharged PHS, which was never threatened in the final set. Piedmont’s serve game put the Buffs on their heels as they struggled to generate solid returns.
“As the night went on they started to really have trouble with our serves,” Williams said.
Carlton led PHS in kills while delivering one of her best performances of the season at the right time.
“She had a really good game tonight,” Williams said.
The senior hitter could sense her teammates’ confidence early on and that helped feed her performance. McAlester had no answer for Carlton’s height and athleticism and, by late in the first set, she knew it.
“I try to keep my ego big. That might sound bad, but for me it keeps me hype and motivated,” she said.
The victory was Piedmont’s 27th of the year, setting a new program-record for single-season victories. Piedmont won only five games in Williams’ first season in 2019, but the program has steadily improved since then and has now totaled 48 wins in the last two seasons.
“It’s crazy how much this program has changed,” Carlton said.
The state tournament begins next Thursday in Newcastle against an opponent that is to be determined.
“This is our seniors last hurrah,” Williams said. “Let’s go make the most of it.”
Piedmont will get six additional practices before its state tourney opener, which Williams said will be a good opportunity for the Lady Wildcats to fine-tune their play.
“There’s some things we’re kind of rusty on that we need to get better at,” he said. “This is the perfect break.”
