▶︎Madison Overcomes Errors to Earn State Championship Run

No. 2 Madison County remains undefeated but had to scramble Thursday against No. 6 Stuarts Draft before putting away the Cougars 3-1 to take a VHSL Class 2B semi in Wetsel Gym. The Mountaineers take on No, 1 Fort Defiance at 6 p.m. Tuesday. PJR photos by Nathan Kipps; video by Chuck Jackson.

Undefeated No. 2 Madison County (24-0) sailed through the first two sets (25-17, 25-17) in a Thursday night VHSL Class 2B regional volleyball game against No.6 Stuarts Draft.

Playing before a large crowd dominated by Mountaineer fans in Wetsel gymnasium, Madison looked like they’d easily take a quick win over the Cougars.

But Draft (9-12) had a different idea. And the Mountaineers didn’t help themselves with 14 critical errors in the third set, including three at the end to fall 25-16 to the Cougars.

Tied 13-all, Draft went on a 13-4 run to narrow its disadvantage to 2-1.

In the fourth set Madison again saw itself with critical errors but once the Mountaineers got back on track, they kept pushing towards victory.

Tied at 6-6, Madison jumped out to a 10-6 lead behind two blocks by senior Leah Hoffman and two Cougar miscues. Seniors Anna Thompson and Ayana Green both contributed four and two kills each, and the Mountaineers led 19-13.

The Cougars rallied, closing the gap to 21-18, but Madison closed with a 4-1 advantage to finally put away Draft.

The victory puts Madison back into the state championship round for the first time since 2019, but first Madison travels to No. 1 Fort Defiance, 6 p.m., Tuesday, to play the Indians for regional title.

The Indians (22-2) defeated Clarke County, 3-0, in the other regional semi on Thursday night.

Tuesday’s winner will host the Region A runners-up on Tuesday, November 14 while the Region B runners-up will travel to the Region A champion.

The post ▶︎Madison Overcomes Errors to Earn State Championship Run first appeared on The Piedmont Journal Recorder.