Girls volleyball: Wadsworth rallies to beat Stow, clinch SL National

STOW — As the Wadsworth volleyball team was losing to Stow late in the third set Tuesday night in a Suburban League National Conference matchup, coach Allyson Wines watched on, seemingly stoic.She knew her team, which had lost just two sets in conference play this season, would answer.The Grizzlies did just that to finish a 25-14, 25-18, 27-25 win and clinch the SL National outright."I think if I'm not composed, I can't expect them to be composed under pressure," Wines said. "Pressure is a privilege. We know that we're going to get pressure, and how are we going to respond?"The way the Grizzlies responded was by scoring 16 of the final 24 points in the third set after trailing 17-11."I think when we get in those positions, when we're down, I feel like we all get regroup really well," said senior Rowan Kelly, who led the Grizzlies with 23 assists and tied for the team lead with eight kills. "We're talking to each other about keeping our confidence because we have very good confidence, and I think that really helps us push through those tough matches." Wadsworth (18-1, 13-0) trailed 7-5 early in the first set when Wines used her first timeout. The Grizzlies responded, outscoring the Bulldogs 20-9 in just 14 minutes. Wadsworth scored 10 of the last 11 points, including a run of eight (3 aces) on serve from sophomore Averie Shell.The Grizzlies never trailed in the second, jumping to an 8-2 led. Once Stow got to 20-17, Wadsworth finished by scoring five of the final six points, the last on a kill by senior Lauren Decker, who finished tied Kelly for the team lead with eight kills."That's how we should play majority of the time, honestly," Decker said. "I think we just need to focus on not getting in those lows as much."Wadsworth had different players step up throughout, such as Shell in the first set on serve, Quinn Macko (8 kills), Lily McComas (4) and Kameron Chapman (3)."I think we all work together really well. We are super close on our team," Decker said. "I think everyone can lean on each other a little bit. When one person's not doing good, someone else can step up."That's been the mentality in the Wadsworth program since Wines took over three years ago."When we have a situation where people that are always our go to maybe aren't our go to, we have to be able to switch it," Wines said. "My whole bench practices together, and they're all trained the same. It's just trust your training."Wadsworth (18-1, 13-0) wrapped up the outright SL National for the second straight season and is now 39-2 in conference play under Wines."We're in a good place, and I think all of our kids have kind of bought into the whole picture," Wines said. "If they didn't win the league this year, I think that's a huge letdown for them — not so much for me, but it matters to them. I just think they're committed, and they have that same vision."Contact Ryan Isley at sports@medina-gazette.com.