Tunstall volleyball has 21-game winning streak halted in Piedmont tournament title game

BASSETT – Patrick County’s shot rang off a Tunstall player as another flopped out of bounds in a vain attempt to save the Trojans’ perfect season.

Patrick County ended the Trojans’ 21-game winning streak and claimed the Piedmont District tournament championship in five sets, winning 25-22, 19-25, 10-25, 25-22 and 15-11 Saturday afternoon at Bassett to a standing ovation from fans of both teams. The match marked Patrick County’s first Piedmont tournament title since 2001 and the third time in three meetings this season that these teams took each other to five sets.

Tunstall (21-1) and Patrick County (16-6) host Region IV tournament games against Christiansburg and Tazewell, respectively, at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

“We’ve been thinking about (playing Christiansburg), we’ve been talking about them, but we were trying to get ready for today, too,” Tunstall coach Jackie Hardy said. “We just don’t have an excuse. We just didn’t play our game today.”

Morgan Distad paced the Trojans with 14 points, two aces and 16 assists. Taylor Dix had nine points and 19 assists; Megan Dillion added 11 points, eight kills and 10 digs; Kelsey Smith made her presence felt up front with 11 kills and seven blocks; and Kyla Moorefield similarly had 11 kills and six blocks. Kelsey Van Asch recorded 15 digs.

Lizzy Leeper racked up 15 kills and 14 digs for Patrick County. Kylene Culler, who limped off the court late in the fifth set with a leg injury, added eight kills and 10 blocks. Hannah Helbert recorded 10 kills and three aces and Casey Bradshaw accumulated 42 assists.

Tunstall started the contest slowly, which has become somewhat of a trend. The Trojans took control after dropping a close first set, however, taking the second set 25-19 and completely dominating in the third. Patrick County responded to its 25-10 drubbing in the third set with an inspired effort, however, building a 15-6 advantage in the fourth set before Tunstall rallied.

“We didn’t pass, we didn’t speak, we couldn’t hit. It was bad,” Patrick County coach Heidi Moore said, speaking about the third set. “It was like playing the first game of the season. It was awful and it was frustrating and then for them to decide that they weren’t going to quit and win that fourth game … and then win that fifth game, that showed that we weren’t finished.”

The Trojans used a 10-4 run to close to within three points at 19-16 and used a 5-0 surge late in the set to come within two points at 23-21. A blocked shot provided the Cougars with a 24-21 advantage and they closed the deal, sending the contest to a deciding fifth set thanks to a Culler kill.

The fifth set was tightly contested, featuring six ties and a number of long volleys. Patrick County took its first lead at 11-10, immediately after Culler was helped off the court, when a Tunstall shot was ripped out of bounds, and never relinquished its lead.

Hannah Smith served an ace to push the contest to game point and the gymnasium erupted when the Cougars captured the victory.

“We’re looking forward to playing Tuesday night,” Tunstall coach Jackie Hardy said. “This is what we’ve been working for all year and we’re going to be ready for it.”