Campbell stunned by Wellington in 5-set heartbreaker | News, Sports, Jobs - Tribune Chronicle

Oct 17, 2024

Staff photo / Dan Hiner. Campbell’s Ciara Clark (7) attempts to lob the ball over Wellington’s Sophia Beck (4) and Kalynne Pickering during the first set of Wednesday’s Division VI playoff game at Campbell Memorial High School.

CAMPBELL — It was a race to 15 points, but the Campbell volleyball team didn’t have enough left in the tank.

Campbell couldn’t hold off a furious Wellington comeback, and the Red Devils fell 3-2 on Wednesday at Memorial High School. The Red Devils’ season came to a close after losing 25-23, 25-22, 23-25, 17-25, 8-15.

“I think it was a collective effort as a team. I don’t think one person got us to where we were, I don’t think one person stopped us from getting to where we wanted to go,” Campbell head coach Tyler Allen said. “I just think, as a team, we fell short of what we needed to do.”

Wellington took the first four points of the fifth set. The Red Devils continued to fight, but an 8-3 deficit led to a Campbell timeout.

The Red Devils got a couple points back, but the damage was done and the Dukes won the final set 15-8.

Sets No. 1 and 2 were completely different from the final three.

Campbell (13-10) traded blows with Wellington in the first set. The opening frame was tied at 23, but a block by MiLeena Williams gave the Red Devils the lead, and an ace by DaJa Will flew into the Wellington bench after a deflection, clinching the first set for the Devils.

The Red Devils took the second set in a similar manner. They battled with the Dukes, but ultimately pulled out a 25-22 win.

Campbell carried that momentum into the third, where they jumped out to an 8-2 lead. However, the Dukes quickly began to chip away. They eventually cut the deficit to 13-12, and a little bit later, they took a 15-14 lead.

The Devils gathered themselves and took a 20-17 lead, but Wellington came back and tied it at 20. The Dukes (15-9) held on and took the third set 25-23, and with it, all the momentum.

“We just made too many mistakes down the stretch,” Allen said. “Three missed serves in a row didn’t help us.”

The Dukes led 24-14 in the fourth. The Red Devils got a few points back, but a bad receive by Campbell went diagonal and off the post, leading to the clinching point for Wellington in a 25-17 set win.

Wellington jumped on the Red Devils early in the fifth set and took control of the deciding period.

“(Mental toughness) is something we’ve struggled with as a team and as individuals,” Allen said. “We’ll definitely look this offseason to see how we can work on our mental game and get to where we need to be to play in high-pressure situations, play through our mistakes and get us to where we need to be.”

Campbell will part ways with four members of the senior class. The veterans were MiLeena Williams, Alivia Miranda, Kaiya Coleman-Clark and Abby Broz.

Entering the season, Allen knew his squad could be just as good as the 2023 group that set the school record with 17 wins. He said the players needed to buy into the plan and help the team rebuild, and he believes the Red Devils are in position for a bright future.

“We got good girls coming up. We got good girls on the current roster, freshmen that really work hard and bought in and really push,” Allen said. “I really think we have a great program here from bottom to top, and I think we’re really ready to just reload and pick up where we left off. It’s gonna take work and we’ll have to put in the time, but we have the players to do that.”

GIRLS VOLLEYBALLWellington 3, Campbell 2 — The Red Devils may have claimed the first two sets, but the Dukes ...