It looked like the Pirates would cruise to an easy victory heading to a pivotal fifth set, but the Eagles continued to fight back and had Clymer on its heels before ultimately losing 25-22.

Despite the loss, Ellicottville had all the confidence required to go out and win the fifth set 15-7, claiming the title for the second straight year.

“That fourth set we were down at one point 12-2,” Ellicottville head coach Katie Auge said. “We talked in the huddle that it was 12-2, but we had more kills than they did. We were giving them points instead of earning them ourselves. We needed to take care of the ball and I said to think about what kind of great comeback story this will be when we win this.”

After a sweep last year, No. 6 Ellicottville was pushed to the limit 25-18, 18-25, 25-11, 22-25, 15-7 to retain its sectional title.

The Eagles’ Ande Northrup hoists the championship plaque. P-J photo by Christian Storms

“It’s incredible,” Auge said about repeating as champions. “It’s everything. These girls work so hard day in and day out, watching film on lunch, putting in the hours right after school or before school and they just bring it all.”

The first two sets were practically mirror images, showing how evenly matched each side was. Both were back-and-forth contests that ended with the victor going on a late run.

The Eagles took the first set after breaking a 14-14 tie with eight straight points to go up 22-14. The center of that success was junior Riley Whitmer scoring her 500th career kill on the team’s 20th point of the set.

“Her work ethic and determination empowers this team,” Auge said. “She’s always positive, always ready to just go for that ball no matter what. She plays with heart endlessly.”

She was a force to be reckoned with all night, scoring 28 kills with 13 digs, an ace and a block.

Clymer’s Finley Mitchell spikes the ball over the net while Ellicottville’s Keira Baldwin (9) and Ande Northrup (2) attempt a block during Thursday’s Section VI Class D final at Southwestern High School. P-J photo by Christian Storms

Most of the offense went through Whitmer and sending plenty her way was Ande Northrup with 30 assists, seven digs and five kills. Izzy Contro provided another nine kills and 14 digs for Ellicottville; Faith Burlingame had 10 digs; Karle Northrup had five kills and two digs; and Keira Baldwin posted two blocks.

“Clymer is a great team,” Auge said about the matchup. “They’re very scrappy, it’s hard to find ways to score. We just had to keep putting pressure on the ball and play big.”

Clymer responded in the second set, pulling away at the end with a nine-point run as Lily Johnson was on the service line.

Evening the match did not flip things into Clymer’s favor as Ellicottville cruised to a dominant 25-11 victory.

Determined to keep the match going, Clymer started the fourth set with a five-point run and then another seven to establish a 13-2 lead.

The Pirates were led by Johnson with 12 digs, six kills and six aces; Elli Bodamer had nine digs and five kills; Mikaela Jackson scored six kills, three digs, an assist and a block; and Addie Wiggers dealt 14 assists with five digs.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better group of girls to go to finals with,” Clymer head coach Velvet Persons said. “We made it to finals because this group trusted each other … that’s something no loss can take away. This loss isn’t fun or what we wanted, but it doesn’t define who we are. What defines us is our teamwork, our resilience and our heart. We are a family and we fought together.”

That hot start was enough to allow Clymer (13-8) to limp to a 25-22 victory that extended the match, but the Eagles were hungry to repeat with goals of going far again.

Ellicottville’s 15-7 win in the fifth set gave the Eagles (18-6) their third title in program history and put them back on the path to states.

“I think the goal is always states,” Auge added. “But we do it one point at a time, one game at a time. Next up we’re going to be watching to see, there are four teams left for Section V, they play tomorrow night and then the final is Tuesday night. We can study up on them and then do what we do, play Eagles volleyball.”