Beachwood Perry both entered Thursday’s Chagrin Valley Conference showdown with at least a share of their respect divisional title in hand.
The Bison weren’t in a sharing mood as they downed the visiting Pirates, 3-2, to win outright the Chagrin Division. Perry settled for a share of the Lake Division title.
“We knew going into this game it was going to be a fight,” Beachwood coach Tiffany McFarland said. “We had a game plan and at times we executed the plan and at times we didn’t. We were struggling with serve receive during the second match, which caused them to get momentum. The girls fought all the way until the end. The seniors stepped up and showed they wanted it more.”
Both teams traded sets throughout the match.
Beachwood won the first, 25-15, Perry won the second 25-20, the Bison won the third, 25-18, and the Pirates won the fourth, 25-13.
Perry led for most of the fifth set and held an 11-8 advantage before the Bison rallied to scored seven of the final nine points to win 15-12.
“Perry has some great hitters and dug a lot of what we were hitting offensively,” McFarland said. “I believe the team that didn’t make a lot of errors and was smart at the net would come out with win.”
Erion Gibson led the Bison with 10 kills, Kyimani Miller added seven kills and three blocks and Nicole Perry pitched in with six kills and 20 digs.
“I think this win showed how good we can be,” Gibson said. “We’re a really good team and I think we’re going to have a really good postseason.”
The CVC title was the first for the Bison in school history. Beachwood, who improved to 19-1 overall and 12-1 in league play, closed out the regular season on a nine-match win streak.
“Winning this game gives us a boost for the sectionals,” McFarland said. “We worked so hard all season and to win the CVC means so much to the girls and the Beachwood community. We had a goal to win and they definitely accomplished that.”
Despite the loss, Perry put together its best season since 2016 when the Pirates finished 19-5. Perry closed out the year 14-8, 11-2 and will share the Lake Division title with Geneva.
