It’s not often that you see a libero take over a match, but when it happens it usually leaves a lasting impression. Madison County threw everything at Nelson County’s defense in four games, but every which way the Mountaineers went, Brittany Crawford was there, or able to get there, throw a blind fist and keep the ball alive.
“Nelson covered the floor so well,” said Madison coach Lindsay Von Herbulis. “Their libero, (Crawford), played an incredible game and I have to give her all the credit in the world.”
The Dogwood District player of the year’s performance paired up with a relentless night upfront from Ashley Wells and Erika Toliver and the Governors outlasted Madison in a tight Region B quarterfinal match, 3-1, 25-11, 23-25, 25-23, 25-14.
“It was hard, and it’s not supposed to be that hard in the quarterfinals,” said Nelson coach Vicki Crawford. “That was a great team we played. They kept us on our toes. In the last couple of years we’ve had really easy matches in the quarterfinals. Not tonight. This was tough.”
The Governors started and finished in a hard-hitting and overpowering fashion that has come to define this team most of the year, but sandwiched inbetween the double-digit wins in game one and four were two battles.
After the Mountaineers fell to start the match, they took a comfortable 15-9 lead in game two but watched Nelson whittle away at the lead on a 10-4 run to tie the match at 19. Madison went back up by four at game point, but the Governors again made life difficult by taking the next three points to get within a point of trying the match at 24. The Mountaineers managed to hold on tight after that and tied the match up at 1-1 to avoid a collapse.
Game three boasted no big runs from either squad early, but Nelson went up by five points at 17-12 and looked in control of the game. Madison returned the favor by making it hard on the Governors by rallying back to make it a tie game at 21-21 and 23-23 until Wells and Toliver closed the set in their team’s favor on the last two points.
“That was the big momentum shift,” Von Herbulis said.
Madison could not recover from there and when Nelson smelled blood they finished the job by taking an early six-point lead in game four and doubled it by the second half to the set to cruise to the win.
“When we’re aggressive, I think its awfully tough to beat us,” Crawford said. “When we’re not, we have some trouble.”
Crawford made it easier when the offense wasn’t at full tilt and had 20 digs in the win.
“I don’t know how it happened, but I know I’m the defense for this team so I always have to be ready and on my toes,” Crawford said. “It really just comes down to getting (our setter Keona Loving) the pass to get to our hitters, because they’re so great.”
Loving fed Wells and Toliver all game for 59 assists. Wells led all hitters with 26 kills while her senior counterpart was close behind with 23.
Madison seniors all played well in their final match with Jordan Aylor putting together an impressive stat line of 29 assists, six kills and two blocks. Samatha Cubbage led her team’s offense with a 13 kill game but also had 12 digs. Amber Robson was at the forefront of an effective Madison block that gave Nelson fits in the middle two sets, collecting four blocks while also putting down seven kills. Junior Molly Shifflett had 13 digs.
“I had a wonderful group to work with this year and couldn’t have asked for more,” Von Herbulis said. “I know the girls are disappointed but they played great. It takes a while to build a program and they really helped us step it up.”
While the Mountaineers’ season ends, Nelson is now one win away from a Group A berth. The Governors play the winner of last night’s other quarterfinal between Luray and Riverheads. A Luray victory would give Nelson one more home game while a Riverheads win puts the Governors on the road.
In either case, the game will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
