CLINTON, Miss. – Center Hill started the season 1-5. Not even three weeks ago, the Mustangs had more losses than wins.
On Thursday, they were holding the Class 6A volleyball state championship trophy.
Center Hill beat top-ranked Hancock 3-2 (25-16, 25-22, 17-25, 25-27, 15-4) at A.E. Wood Coliseum on the campus of Mississippi College, finishing off a run of four straight playoff wins.
“Respect the Hill” is no longer a slogan. It’s a fact.
A two-set lead, then a near-collapse
The Mustangs (18-11) controlled the first two sets against the Hawks (25-8), who were ranked No. 1 in 6A by MaxPreps and had not dropped a single set in the postseason. Center Hill took Set 1 behind a 17-7 surge, then held off Hancock’s push in Set 2 after leading 20-17.
Then the match turned.
Hancock ran out to a 6-1 lead in Set 3 and never looked back, winning 25-17. In Set 4 the Hawks led 17-9 and appeared ready to level the match. Center Hill, trailing 19-14, rallied to tie it at 22 and went up 24-23.
One point from the title, the Mustangs couldn’t finish. Hancock saved championship point, tied it at 25 and won the last two points for a 27-25 victory. The Hawks had gone from down 0-2 to even at 2-2.
Set 5 was a different story
Center Hill was not going to let it slip away twice.
The Mustangs jumped to a 6-2 lead and Hancock called timeout, which did nothing to slow them. Center Hill won nine of the last 11 points to close out a 15-4 rout. After 4 sets that went the distance, the fifth was over almost before it began.
The road to Clinton
Center Hill swept Callaway and Saltillo, then beat Neshoba Central 3-1 in Monday’s North Half final. Hancock, which like Center Hill went 10-0 in district play, swept Forest Hill, Long Beach and George County to win the South Half.
Both teams arrived with standouts. Center Hill’s Lydia Stansfield led the Mustangs with 176 kills and 54 aces this season, according to MaxPreps. Tamlyn Craig added 94 blocks, Kassidy Joyner had 473 assists and Payten Murphy had 253 digs. For Hancock, senior Blyth Martinez led with 302 kills, Madison Reso had 682 assists and 89 aces, Lexi Dreher had 363 digs and Madison Moran had 61 blocks. Stats from the title match were not yet available.
The bottom line
Center Hill lost seven non-district matches and was a .500-or-worse team less than three weeks ago. It went undefeated in district play, played its best volleyball when the stakes were highest, and beat the No. 1 team in the state when it had to.
They never stopped working, and today they are the 6A state champions.
