Pikesville Volleyball Falls in Region Final

The Pikesville volleyball team jumped out to a good start in the third set of the Class 1A North Region final against Western Tech. It looked like the Panthers were about to go on a roll. 

Pikesville took a 6-1 lead before the Wolverines called time-out to stop the run. That's when Western Tech quickly turned things around and completed their three-game sweep, beating Pikesville 25-15, 25-10, 25-17.

The victory Friday night gave Western Tech its first region title and let the Wolverines advance to next week's state final four. Pikesville ended the season with a 10-7 record. 

The loss was disappointing for Pikesville since the Panthers never got going in the match. They kept making mistakes and never got rolling or could stop the athletic Western Tech team long enough.

"We just didn't do what we were supposed to do," said Pikesville coach Tarese Smith. "We were just totally off."

The Panthers were making their first trip to a region final in seven years and looked unsettled at times.

Smith said she thought her team was battling nerves in the first set and, after Western Tech began to take charge, Pikesville began to press since the team wanted this win so badly. 

"In their hearts, they knew they could win," Smith said. "They were trying to win."

Smith said players like Zhane Truesdale, Rebecca Gillespie and Abigail Ficek turned in strong efforts. 

Gillespie is a sophomore who's also one of the school's top tennis players. She said the Panthers were thrilled to make it this far.

"It was so exciting for us," she said. "But they played really well."

The Panthers were hoping they learned enough from this experience to find similar success next year. Some were already talking about that while leaving the gym at Western Tech.

"I had fun," Gillespie said. "We want to be back."