By Blake Colston
Sports Editor
With Piedmont trailing Moore two-sets-to-zero and on the brink of its second straight loss to open the year, senior Grace Robison wanted the challenge of turning around the match and, possibly, the season.
To do that, she had to stifle the Lions’ best hitter, a task that has proved challenging. Through two sets, Addison Worley had dominated at the net, but Robison wasn’t going to back down. The 5-foot-11 senior asked Piedmont’s coaching staff to make an adjustment to the Lady ‘Cats’ rotation so that she could be in position to defend Worley more often.
With Robison leading the charge, Piedmont stormed back to take the next two sets by identical 25-23 scores, then PHS routed Moore in the decisive fifth set, 15-7. Robison blocked Worley to seal the comeback victory.
“It was pretty impressive stuff,” head coach Tom Williams said. “She said, ‘put me over there, I’ll stop her,’ and she did. That’s a coach’s dream.”
The win kickstarted a stretch of excellent volleyball from Piedmont over the weekend that ended in a tournament title at Coweta. PHS beat Shawnee in straight sets (25-11, 25-12) then rebounded from a loss to Glenpool with three consecutive wins over Sapulpa, Coweta and Lawton MacArthur to clinch the championship.
With matches shortened to three sets in the tournament format, Piedmont needed all three to beat Sapulpa, Glenpool and MacArthur. In the match against Sapulpa, PHS dropped the first set and had to win a marathon second set 26-24 to stay in contention for the championship.
“We showed a lot of grit. It wasn’t like we went out and destroyed those other teams,” Williams said. “What it came down to was, we weathered some tough storms and the kids came out and found a way to win.”
PHS took the opening set vs. Mac, but had to battle back from a 25-17 loss in the second to claim the title with a 15-13 victory over the Highlander in the decisive final set.
“These girls have stepped it up,” Williams said.
Piedmont leaned on returners like Jordan Hahn, Chesnie Caudill, Zoey Hughes, Bentlie Blankenship, Mayli Whetter and Robison, but also got key plays from underclassmen like Lydia Steckel, Macy Young and Sophie Payne.
“We got contributions from everyone,” Williams said. “Our depth is really strong right now.”
Whetter named tournament MVP
Whetter, Piedmont’s junior setter, beat the odds to earn most valuable player honors at Coweta.
“Coaches usually notice the hitters, because they’re the ones making the big splash,” Williams said. “But you’ve got to credit the coaches at this tournament, they know good setting and Mayli is really good.”
Williams said Whetter has the court savvy to make the right decisions at all times, whether that’s a simple play or one that takes more skill. She has the versatility to set any position on the floor and her intangibles are off the charts.
“She really feels the pulse of the team,” Williams said. “I’ve coached some good setters and Mayli is one of the best setters I’ve ever had.”
Payne and Hughes made the all-tournament team.
