On Saturday afternoon, the Maywood-Hayes Center Wolves took on the BDS Eagles in the 3rd and 4th place game of the Class D1 Volleyball State Tournament. The Wolves couldn't hang on for a victory as they fell in five sets with the scores reading 21-25, 25-19, 20-25, 27-25, and 15-11.
In the first set, Maywood-Hayes Center set the tone by going up 7-1. The Eagles began to climb back, tying things up at 8-8. The Wolves though, went on a run and make the lead 17-13 before BDS had to take a timeout. After the time out, BDS tied it up at 18-18, but the Wolves were able to close it out winning 25-21.
In the second set, it was a similar start for Maywood-Hayes Center as they got out to a 9-3 lead. BDS went on a 5-2 run to make it 10-8 and the Wolves called a timeout. From there though BDS found a groove on both offense and defense and were able to take the set 25-19.
In the third, Maywood-Hayes Center found themselves down early in the set, but they were able to take a lead at 13-12. From there it was a back and forth battle until the Wolves were able to break free at 20-19. Then the Wolves went on a 5-1 run to secure the 25-20 win.
In the fourth set, it was a battle, to say the least. BDS jumped out to a 6-3 lead. The Wolves crawled back momentarily, then the Eagles led 10-6 before Maywood-Hayes Center had to call a timeout. Maywood-Hayes Center crept back into, tying it at 12-12. In the later stages of the set, Maywood-Hayes Center took the lead at 23-22. Then it continued to be a back and forth affair as both squads traded set points, but eventually BDS prevailed 27-25.
In the fifth and final set, BDS jumped out ahead 6-2 and the Wolves had to take a timeout and regroup. BDS maintained their lead at 10-4, and Maywood-Hayes Center had to take a timeout once again. The Wolves, made things very interesting as they got within three points at 12-9. But the Eagles closed it out with a 15-11 victory to secure the third place trophy.
Unofficially for Maywood-Hayes Center, they were led by Olivia Hansen and her 16 kills and also Kiley Hejtmanek with six ace serves.
Head coach of the Wolves, Shayne Lawson, had this to say about the season they had, as it was also her first year as they head coach of Maywood-Hayes Center. "As a first year head coach, I would consider this a very successful season. RPAC champions, district champions and a state 4th place finish. Coming into the season, we knew this was going to be tough and we were going to be the team to beat. We had the mindset that every team was going to play their best game against us and that we had to rise up each game. We had our challenges, but when you get to play on the last day of the season, you have to be pretty proud of your team as there are so many high school athletes wishing they were the ones playing instead."
The Wolves finish the season at 26-4.
