Buffalo looked like a well-oiled machine in the first two rounds of the Class A prep volleyball state tournament Wednesday at ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Coliseum & Convention Center.
The No. 2-seeded Bison downed No. 7 Pendleton County in straight sets (25-16, 25-11, 25-16) in the quarterfinal before defeating No. 3 Ritchie County 3-1 (25-17, 21-25, 25-16, 25-20) in the semifinal to advance to their first state title game in school history.
The Bison will play No. 1 Williamstown in the Class A final on Thursday after the conclusion of the Class AAA final which begins at 11 a.m.Â
Buffalo coach Barry Clendenin was choked up after the semifinal win.Â
"There's just a lot of heart in that group," Clendenin said. "They fight hard, they play hard. I told them we have to manage the highs and not get too low. That's a great team in Ritchie County. The girls just managed the emotions. Total team effort."
Midway through the first set, Ritchie had an 12-11 lead as the teams traded the lead.Â
Buffalo caught fire after that, going on a 9-0 run to take a 20-12 lead that the Bison did not relinquish.Â
In the second set, Ritchie looked sloppy, committing multiple unforced errors and Buffalo got out to a 15-9 lead. Ritchie woke up, though, as the Rebels went on a 16-6 run down the stretch to take the second set.
In the third set, it was Ritchie's turn to take an early lead as the Rebels led 11-7 before Clendenin called a timeout.Â
The timeout did the trick, as the Bison went on an 18-6 run, scoring 14 of the 15 final points to go up two sets to one.Â
The fourth set was close most of the way as Buffalo had a 19-17 lead looking to clench its first-ever state championship game berth. The Bison went on a 5-3 run from there to take the semifinal three sets to one.Â
In the quarterfinal, it was all Buffalo.Â
Chloe Hale led the Bison with 17 kills.
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Pendleton looked good out of the gate as the Wildcats jumped out to a 5-2 lead and it looked like the aforementioned nerves affected the Bison early.
It didn’t take long for Buffalo to get over those nerves, though.
The Bison scored three straight points to tie the set, Hale’s kill later in the set gave them a 10-7 lead that they did not relinquish for the remainder of the set.
Leading 11-10, Buffalo went on a 14-7 run to win the first set easily.
In the second set, it was Buffalo that got off to a good start with a 6-1 opening run, and Pendleton called an early timeout.
The timeout paid few dividends though as Buffalo went on a 19-10 tear to win the set by 14 points.
The third set was the most competitive of the match as the teams went back and forth until Buffalo pulled away. Pendleton once again established an early lead, going up 4-1 to start the set, but again Buffalo came, eventually tying the set at 6.
The teams matched point for point for the next few minutes and Pendleton had a 15-13 lead with its season on the line.
The Bison allowed just one more point while scoring 12 more, and that gave them the set 25-16 and a 3-0 match win.
“I think a little bit of experience helped, being here last year,†Clendenin said. “I think [Pendleton is] a good, solid young team. They were fighting for their lives. They kept swinging and put the pressure on us. Once we were able to calm down in the mid-section of the game, get a few kills, make a few plays, that kind of helped calm our nerves.â€
Buffalo had to have a short memory as it prepared to play in its semifinal against Ritchie later Wednesday. Buffalo was eliminated in the semifinals last season by eventual champion Williamstown.
“This one is gone, be happy the way we played,†Clendenin said. “We have to push through and be ready for the next one. It’s a challenge. Making the semis for the second year in a row is a big step. They want more out of it. Ritchie is a solid team. We’re just going to have to be calm and play through our nerves."
