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WELLSBURG -- One hundred and counting.
The Oak Glen volleyball team led Brooke, 2-1, and the Golden Bears led the Bruins, 7-3, in the fourth game, however, Brooke battled back and won the game to force a fifth and deciding game.
Oak Glen jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the finale, and the Golden Bears went on to win the game by nine and win the match, 20-25, 25-14, 25-21., 25-23, 15-6, Thursday night inside the Brooke Wellness Center.
"There were some long rallies in that match," Oak Glen (20-6-1) head coach Morgan Saddler said. "In high school volleyball, you don't always see long rallies like that in a match.
"My hat is off to Brooke. They battled back."
Brooke won the first game, but could not keep the momentum going as Oak Glen went the next to take a 2-1 lead. The Bruins regained the momentum with a win in Game 4, however, they were not able to overcome a slow start in Game 5.
Brooke (11-12) head coach Emily Stuck the result of the match was "disappointing."
The victory gave Saddler her 100th win as head coach of her alma mater.
"This has everything to do with all the girls that have come through the program in the last four seasons," Saddler said. "I'm blessed to be able to coach a great group of girls."
Unlike some of the other 100 wins, this one did not come easy as the hosts put up quite a fight on their home court.
"We really wanted to beat them," Stuck said. "We were on our home court. You always want to win at home.
"I am proud of the girls. They fought. They battled. They never gave up. They worked as a team. They wanted it. They never gave up. To be able to take them to a fifth set, I am proud of them."
Individually for Oak Glen, captain Ashlyn Six tallied 23 kills, McKenzi Martin colllected 21 kills and Averi Martin netted seven kills. Also, Jersey Smith contributed 53 assists, and Reecelyn Craig recorded five aces.
For Brooke, Angelina Lippoli tallied one ace, one kill, four digs and two blocks, Preslei Ridgely recorded 15 kills, one dig and one block and Carly Kasper produced two aces, one kill and two digs. Also, Carmen Canales contributed three aces and two digs, Ava Bolen ended up with three aces, two digs and seven blocks and Landry Bone delivered two blocks.
The visitors scored the first point in Game 5, but the hosts answered right back, however, the girls from Hancock County scored the next five points to take control at 6-1. The lead grew to 8-2, but the girls from Brooke County collected two straight points to make it 8-4. The girls in white responded with the next four points to increase their advantage to 12-4 before going on to win the game by nine.
"It was everything," Saddler said about her team jumping out to an early lead in the game. "Fifth sets can go either way."
The Golden Bears had a chance to put the match away in four, but the Bruins refused to go away quietly into the West Virginia night.
Trailing 7-3, Brooke responded and ended up building a 15-12 lead forcing Saddler to call a timeout. Oak Glen regouped and tied the score at 19, but a bad serve enabled the girls in green to retake the lead. The Golden Bears bounced back and took a 23-21 lead, however, the Green-and-Gold tallied the next four points to win the game and tie the match at 2.
"In the fourth set we were error heavy," Saddler said. "We were error heavy, and Brooke battled back. They were able to capitalize on our errors.
"I am proud of the way the girls came back in the fifth set. They played hard. They played for each other."
After dropping the first game by five, Oak Glen came out determined to win Game 2, and that is exactly what it did.
The Golden Bears jumped out to a 6-3 lead forcing Stuck to call a timeout. Later, the victors extended their advantage to 18-9 causing Stuck to call another timeout. The lead grew to 22-10 before the Golden Bears won the game by 11 to deadlock the match at 1-all.
Oak Glen took the lead early in Game 3. The Golden Bears led 11-6 before Stuck called a timeout with her team down, 14-8. The visiting team pushed their advantage out to 22-13, but the Bruins stormed back. Brooke ripped of sox straight points to pull within 22-19 forcing Saddler to call a timeout. Oak Glen led 24-21, but Brooke was serving, however, the serve went long giving the point and the game to the Golden Bears.
"I think it was momentum," Saddler said about what changed after that first game. "We came out with no momentum in that first set. In the second set and through the rest of the match we were able to gain momentum. There were some highs and lows.
"We regrouped as a team. We worked hard. We played with a lot of effort, and we came away with the win."
The two teams met early in the season up at Oak Glen with the Golden Bears also coming out on top in that one.
"Brooke served a lot tougher this time," Saddler said. "We saw them earlier in the season, and they served a lot tougher tonight."
Stuck credited her team's growth for its improved serving.
"That's growth," she said. "We played them early on. It was one of our first games of the season. That happens."
The Bruins have some new faces on the varsity roster this season, and it takes time for teams to come together.
Oak Glen got off to a slow start in Game 1, and Brooke was able to take advantage. The Bruins did what they had to do down the stretch to pull out the win to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The match was the Bruins' second tough one of the week as Brooke played Union Local (19-1) Tuesday on the road.
"I like it honestly," Stuck said about playing tough competition in back-to-back matches. "I like having to play at a high level so you don't have to worry about dropping down low. We fought."
Thursday was the cutoff day for teams to qualify for the annual OVAC Tournament. The top four teams in each class qualify for the tournament.
Oak Glen entered play Thursday in third place behind first place East Liverpool and second place Beaver Local.
"We are going to probably stay at No. 3 with Beaver Local beating Cambridge tonight," Saddler said.
Edison entered Thursday in fourth place.
Qualfiying for the conference tournament is always a goal for Oak Glen, and the Golden Bears have hopes of winning the tournament.
"We are just going to take it one day at a time and one game at a time," Saddler said. "We are going to give it our best shot."
Oak Glen is off until playing in the semifinal Tuesday night.
Brooke entered its match against Oak Glen in seventh place in the Class 5A rankings.
The final rankings and pairings are set to be released today.
Brooke is scheduled to play Marietta at noon Saturday on the road.