Rising Sun sophomore setter Mackenzie Blevins says it seems like the Tigers have played together their entire lives. Now Blevins and her teammates will be linked together forever in Rising Sun volleyball history. The Tigers captured the MPSSAA Class 2A title Monday night, November 23, with a sweep of Patuxent in Ritchie Coliseum in College Park. Rising Sun prevailed 25-22, 25-20, 25-15. It is the third state title for the Tigers who went back-to-back in 2006 and 2007. The final point came on a Patuxent infraction, setting off a Rising Sun celebration. "I just looked at the ball and I was like, 'Wow, we just won'," junior outside hitter Lacey Swartout said. "And then it really hit me. I was like, 'Oh my gosh!' I was just so excited. Everybody jumped up and down. It's the best feeling." Unlike in the semifinals, Rising Sun started strong in the title match and built a 16-11 advantage. "I decided not to outsmart myself this time and just play with what we've been playing with rather than try and be a smart coach," Rising Sun coach Rich Wilson said. "I figured I'd just be a dumb one and sit on the bench and watch." The Panthers did not go quietly. Patuxent scored eight straight points to take a 19-16 edge. "I don't know [what happened]," Wilson said. "I'll have to go look at that. I can't tell whether we relaxed a little bit, they amped up a little bit, a combination of both. It's a tendency among teams quite often when they start to get on a roll, when they start to build on a lead, they figure it's just going to keep going. And a lot of times it doesn't. [Patuxent was] serving pretty well at that standpoint…[Their server] kind of rocked us back on our heels and that kind of let the momentum switch back over to them. Really I guess what it was they went on a good serving run and took us kind of by surprise." Rising Sun regained the momentum on consecutive kills by Swartout. Ahead 20-18, Patuxent had a service error before Breanne Haley notched a block and Swartout served an ace. The game was tied at both 21 and 22 before the Tigers took command on kills by Haley and Blevins and won the game on a Panthers' error. "It was a great game," said Wilson. "My hat's off to Patuxent. I thought they put up a really great fight. I'm not sure exactly how we managed to win at times. I think what you saw really was volleyball is a game of momentum. And when you have it you try your damnedest to preserve it. And the other coach tries his damnedest to steal it back. Probably when we go back and watch the game tape you just see periods of momentum shifts throughout the course of the game. They were a really good team. They were much better than they showed in the semifinals against Hereford." Rising Sun rolled to a 17-10 lead on the way to winning game two and then dominated the third game to close out the match. Wilson and his players agree it's the Tigers' unity that sets them apart. "I said this to the girls over the past week or so, truly one of the most unique things about this team is the way in which they have bonded," said Wilson. "The way they support and communicate. There's no drama. When somebody has something to say, they come out and say it. Nobody takes offense. Everybody takes it to heart. If you'd been to the spaghetti dinner [Sunday night], it was a riot. Trying to get them focus on [the title game] was almost impossible." "Like herding cats," Blevins suggested. "Herding cats," Wilson replied. "Yes, that's exactly what it's like." Joking aside, Rising Sun (23-1) performed more like the dolphins at Sea World than a herd of cats. "I was just a freshman last year," Blevins said. "They've been together for three years. I've been together [with them] for two, but I feel like we've all been together all our lives. We kind of mesh well together." Blevins notched 30 assists for the Tigers. Haley had a match-high 17 kills and Swartout added 11. After going through a drought after guiding Rising Sun to state titles in 2006 and 2007, Wilson was asked if he thought he'd win another championship. "You probably don't believe this," Wilson said. "State titles are nice. But that's not why I'm in this. I'm not in this to win state titles. They're an artifact of what we've been trying to do. I love working with the girls. The girls make all this worthwhile. Even if we're 8-8, because to watch them in situations where they're playing their hearts out, you win or you just barely lose, to see the growth in them at that point and time is all the reward I really want. State titles are nice. that way I can shut people up when they give me a hard time. [When they ask] How many state titles have you won?" Wilson said the night before the final was the first night he went to sleep at a decent time instead of watching game tapes into the wee hours of the morning. He knew there was nothing more he could do and had faith in his team. "They satisfied my goal," he said. "My goal is to be coaching on the last day of the year, so that was satisfied [the previous] Thursday night [in the semifinals]. And now they're state champions. On the way back, I'll start drawing up next year's practice schedule." Comments are closed.
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