PIEDMONT – One point away and then heartbreak.
The Nation Ford Falcons were one point away from returning to the 5A Division II state championship before things fell apart for them. Rallying down from a 2-0 deficit, Nation Ford won two straight sets to tie the Upper State championship before falling 3-2 (13-25, 12-25, 25-19, 25-20, 14-16) to the Woodmont Wildcats.
Nation Ford started the fifth set strong using Lila Martin and Julie Nzambele at the net to gather kills quickly and give the Falcons an early advantage as they jumped out to a 5-3 lead. The Falcons kept the advantage going up 8-5, before a Wildcat timeout. Nation Ford kept the lead, but lost a little momentum as Woodmont pulled within two at 11-9.
Nation Ford would keep the lead at 14-12 needing one more point to win the match, before a mental lapse led to a couple Falcons players running on the court thinking the team had scored the match point to get the win. That resulted in a rule violation and a point for Woodmont, which shifted the tide as the Wildcats scored the next three points to win the set 16-14 and the match.
The Wildcats came into the match having not dropped a set in the playoffs. Woodmont packed their side of the gym for the Upper State finals in a sea of blue and jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the first set before a Falcons timeout.
The Wildcats were strong at the net in the early going getting blocks off the Nation Ford attacks.
Down 9-5, the Falcons scored three straight points to pull within one. Although they rallied, Woodmont didn’t let them catch up and scored six consecutive points to go up 15-8 leading to another Nation Ford timeout.
Out of the Falcons second timeout, the Wildcats doubled the score to go up 16-8, while Nation Ford struggled to find a rhythm. Woodmont scored seven of eight points to go up 24-12 before taking the set.
The second set started much like the first as Nation Ford scored the first point, but Woodmont scored the next seven of eight points to take another strong 7-2 lead.
Woodmont’s shot placement caught the Falcons off balance as shots would fall between the front and back lines, just out of reach of a diving Nation Ford player. The Wildcats went up 12-5 before the Falcons took a timeout.
Nation Ford was able to get returns, but struggled at times finding kills. Every time it seemed the Falcons would find a balance, a long shot threw their momentum off. Woodmont stretched their lead to 22-10 in the second set before closing the set out and taking a 2-0 lead.
Nation Ford opened the third set going up 2-0, but Woodmont quickly rallied to take the lead. The Wildcats were strong at the net getting third set blocks of potential Nation Ford kills to keep the volley moving as they went up 9-6.
Nation Ford scored three straight points to tie the set at nine. The Falcons played better and didn’t let the Wildcats run away keeping the third set competitive.
The Falcons took a 14-13 edge leading to Woodmont timeout. The two teams kept trading points, before Nation Ford went up 19-17 and forcing the Wildcats into a timeout.
Nation Ford kept the aggression up and surged ahead 23-19 and won the set preventing the shutout.
The Falcons kept the momentum to start the fourth set, but Woodmont quickly rallied to go up 4-1. Nation Ford came back to tie the set, as the two teams matched each other nearly point-for-point.
Nation Ford then scored three points to go up 14-11, as the Wildcats tried to regroup with a timeout. The Falcons went up 18-13 for its biggest lead of the set, but four consecutive points by Woodmont led to a Nation Ford timeout.
Nation Ford kept the lead out of the timeout, despite a flurry by Woodmont, as they won the set and tied the match at two forcing a fifth set.
Nation Ford ends their season at 36-8 overall.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
