BETHESDA -- The first game of last night's match made South Carroll coach Debbie Eaton happy. The score, which went in favor of Walt Whitman, didn't please Eaton, but what she saw on the court did.
"The first game was real important to us because we saw this team was beatable," said Eaton. "This was the push we needed."
South Carroll got lots of push also from Nicole Spencer and Melissa Gettemy, especially in the fifth game, and the visiting Cavaliers won their first region championship since 1985 with a 10-15, 16-14, 15-7, 11-15, 15-10 victory over Walt Whitman in the Class 3A West Region final.
South Carroll (10-7) advances to the Class 3A state semifinals on Monday at LaPlata High School at 5 p.m. against the winner of the North Region.
The Cavaliers fought Whitman (10-7) hard right from the start. The Vikings needed to score seven of the final eight points for the victory in Game 1, but the Cavaliers seemed to play stronger as the game went on.
After that, South Carroll took over. Spencer became a force at the net, finishing with 12 kills and several key blocks. The 5-foot-10 senior often had to contend with being double-teamed at the net by Kristalyn Omland and Erica Pearson, but she still recorded several clutch points.
Spencer and Gettemy carried much of the load as the Cavaliers won games 2 and 3. Whitman took an 11-2 lead in Game 4, but Gettemy made several key plays -- including back-to-back blocks late -- as the Cavaliers scored nine straight to tie it at 11.
Even though Whitman (10-7) scored the final four points to win that game, all of the Cavaliers had played well and the confidence carried over into Game 5.
"Tonight, I think the difference was we played as a team," said Spencer. "We played as a unit."
Gettemy and Spencer were big parts of that unit, especially in the final game. Whitman took a 7-4 lead in that game, but the South Carroll duo sparked a comeback that let the Cavaliers score 11 of the game's final 14 points.
In that last game, Gettemy recorded six blocks and one kills. The senior came up with three big blocks on one points. Spencer pitched in with three kills, two blocks and a dink.
"We wanted to go out with a bang [this year]," said Gettemy. "We wanted the match. We wanted to win the states."
The Cavaliers made it to the states thanks to some good serving and tough defense. Amy Stephenson, who had a big night on Wednesday in the region semifinal victory over Linganore, had 21 service points in addition to scoring several big points.
Spencer added 11 service points, and she and Gettemy keyed a tough defense that forced the Vikings into numerous errors. Whitman rarely could run off a string a points as the Cavaliers often stopped them with great saves or big blocks.
Whitman coach Jim Kuhn, whose team upset previously unbeaten Kennedy on Wednesday, said his team was a bit flat but South Carroll deserved all the credit.
"They played an absolutely fantastic game," said Kuhn. "They were relentless with their defense. They allowed us to beat ourselves."