Capping off rallies in the first, third and fourth sets, Clymer defeated No. 4 Maple Grove 25-22, 22-25, 25-20, 25-23 to advance to the championship on Thursday.

“It feels so good that the hard work is finally paid off,” Clymer captain Harleigh Faulkner said about the win. “Every practice we’ve been going 110 percent, every game we’ve been going 110 percent and I just really think that we deserve it. It feels awesome.”

The opening period really set the tone for the evening with the Red Dragons leading and looking in command at 17-13. However, Clymer was resilient and managed to instantly rattle off a run of five to take the lead and momentum.

“It was really tough of us to pull it together to win those sets,” Clymer captain Alyssa Pratt stated. “Even when we were down, I think we did amazing because we got in our heads, but we stuck it out and played really well to bring it back. That was probably the best part of the game was to watch us come back.”

Clymer’s Olivia Dellamora spikes the ball as Maple Grove’s Meg Ryan (14) and Bayley Godfrey (15) attempt a block during Monday’s Section VI Class D semifinal in Clymer. P-J photo by Christian Storms

The second set was the same with Maple Grove taking the lead again and amassing a 17-10 lead before Clymer made its surge. The Pirates slowly chipped back and eventually trailed by one, down 20-19.

However, this time Maple Grove managed to close out the set as Meg Ryan provided a big block after an extended volley and a monstrous spike to win 25-22.

The third set included Maple Grove racing out to another 17-13 lead, but right on schedule Clymer made its run. The Pirates capitalized on sound passing, made several big saves and did not give up free points surging to the 25-20 win.

“The momentum definitely builds us up a lot,” Pratt added about big plays. “When we do something incredible, our whole team gets so excited and the excitement just builds each play. It just brings our team together and we play better.”

Clymer established its lead with contributions from all around the court. Leading the evening were Elli Bodamer with 12 digs, four kills and three aces; Harleigh Faulkner collected 17 digs, six kills and an ace; Lily Johnson had 14 digs, five kills and five aces; Keira Kinal provided two digs, six kills, an ace and a block; Olivia Dellamora added 15 digs and five kills; and Addie Wiggers dealt out 11 assists with two digs.

“We realized how important it was,” Clymer captain Olivia Dellamora said about the team’s effort. “We wanted it so bad that we decided we need to push no matter what the score is. We need to play the sport we love and push as hard as we can.”

Maple Grove was on the verge of forcing a fifth set, taking a 19-14 lead, but that was given away on a 7-point run that included several free points via faults.

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t finish tonight,” Maple Grove head coach Ardelle Rambacher said about the match. “Those are some of the things we’ve been working on all season long. Not getting comfortable, making sure we’re finishing. We’d get to the point and we would say it over and over again, but of course a couple of calls that didn’t go our way affected us and was a product of the result.”

Once Clymer got up 22-19, it was as good as over with the Pirates grinding out the final period 25-23 and booking a rematch in the finals with Ellicottville.

“It feels really crazy to be going to the sectional finals two years in a row against the same team,” Clymer captain Keira Kinal said. “I know we got swept last year, but this year is a completely different year.”

While the semifinal loss was disappointing for the Red Dragons, they came a long way from a 2-15 season last year to an improved 14-5.

“To get to this point, from last year to this year, is a totally different team,” Rambacher said about her team. “I was just proud that my girls were able to get this far. Our season last year wasn’t like this and to bounce back from the season we had last year to this year, I’m sure a lot of people didn’t see us coming at all. I knew it was coming because I know the growth we’ve had with this team on how much we’ve been working.”

Leading the charge for the Red Dragons against Clymer were Zoey Foley with 12 kills, an ace and 13 digs; Bry Cornell with 11 kills, 13 digs and an ace; Meg Ryan had two aces, 10 kills and four digs; Mady Haglund dealt out 36 assists, 18 digs, two kills and two aces; and Ariyah Brown had 17 digs.

Clymer (13-7) plays in the Section VI Class D championship on Thursday evening at 7:30 at Southwestern against No. 6 Ellicottville (17-6).