CUMBERLAND — It came down to whatever team could close it out in the first two back-and-forth sets. Fort Hill, ranked third, swept Allegany on Thursday after dominating the third and pulling away late in the first two. With the victory, the Sentinels (11-2, 3-0 City League) secured the Cumberland City League title.
There were five lead changes and eight ties in the first set. For the first half of the set, neither team had a lead of more than two points. The Sentinels were tied at 15, but the Campers’ mistake gave them the advantage (4-9, 1-2 City League).
Over the following nine plays, Allegany made five mistakes, increasing Fort Hill’s advantage to 22–17. The Sentinels ended the set on a 10-3 run after Tatum Bishop won the set with back-to-back aces. There were seven ties and three lead changes in the second set, and neither team had a majority lead of more than three points.
Isom being an Ace
Fort Hill answered with a 7-1 run after Leilani Morgret’s kill off a Hailee Isom assist reduced Alco’s deficit to 18-16. Isom recorded an ace and a dig for six assists. Addison Furstenberg set up Talia Young for a kill to win the set after MaeLeigh Plummer recorded three consecutive aces.
Plummer finished with four aces, two blocks, and eleven kills. Mackenzie Monahan’s ace gave the Campers a 5-4 lead early in the fourth set. Following a Kamryn Rice to Plummer kill to swiftly regain the lead, the Sentinels launched on an 11-3 run to increase their lead to 17-8.
Throughout the run, Summer Welsh led Fort Hill with three assists and one block. With 26 assists, 16 digs, 10 points, and five kills, the rookie recorded a triple-double. Plummer’s ace sealed the sweep, and the Sentinels finished the set with an 8-1 run.
The junior varsity game was won by Fort Hill, who scored 25-18 and 25-17. Haley Metz finished with 10 digs and 17 assists, recording a double-double for the Sentinels. Adalyn Rice, Corrinne Spriggs, and Caniyah Plummer each got six kills, while Caiti Willison contributed 12 digs. With ten digs, five assists, three kills, and an ace, Julia Imes led Allegany.
Savannah Walton had three assists, five kills, and six digs in the end. On Monday at 7 p.m., Allegany will travel to No. 4 Mountain Ridge (7-5, 3-3 WestMAC). Berkeley Springs will play Fort Hill on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. To get ready for the playoffs, both teams have two games left in the regular season.