The annual Wayne County volleyball tournament was held in Hagerstown on Saturday, Oct. 4. The opening-round matches went as expected to set up a championship match between Hagerstown and Northeastern.
Match 1: Hagerstown 3, Centerville 0
The Hagerstown Tigers were the aggressors from the opening serve. The Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead in the first set, but it was the only lead they enjoyed. The Tigers used their power game to take control of the match. The Tigers steadily built their lead, eventually taking a 25-14 win. Set two was a carbon copy. The Bulldogs led 1-0 but never again, eventually losing 25-14. Centerville started the third set with a quick 4-0 lead. The Tigers fought back to tie the set at 6-6. The set was also tied at 8-8, 10-10 and 11-11 before Hagerstown went on a 14-2 run to win the set 25-13 and the match 3-0. Hagerstown head coach Brian Dale said he was pleased to advance. “We made very few errors and we stayed focused,” Dale said. “Raleigh Doerstler carried us offensively and everybody else played well.”
Centerville coaches were not available for comment.
Hagerstown (17-8) 25 25 25
Centerville (5-16) 14 14 13
Match 2: Northeastern 3, Lincoln 0
The second match was a mismatch on paper. The Eagles played with focus and intensity, but they lost the first and third set by identical 25-5 scores. But in the second set, they surprised the crowd and gained their admiration by battling the heavily favored Knights toe-to-toe. The Eagles would not go away. The match was tied at 14-14, 16-16 and 18-18 before the Knights finally found separation and pulled away to a 25-19 win. Lincoln head coach Don Crum spoke about his team with pride. “Northeastern is really good,” Crum said. “But they are not in our sectional. I think our effort today will really help our confidence. I am so proud of them. They were challenged on the court and that is tough mentally, but they responded. This team has continued to work hard all year and they encourage each other. If we play in our sectional like we played in the second set today, we could surprise some people. I love this team.”
Northeastern (17-6) 25 25 25
Lincoln (2-19) 5 19 5
Championship: Northeastern 3, Hagerstown 1
The championship match was a rematch of a five-set thriller Hagerstown won only two days prior. An old wooden bucket, the Wayne County volleyball traveling trophy, was on the line, but the way the teams competed you would have thought it was made of gold instead of wood.
Set 1 was close early before the Knights broke from a tie early and never trailed again, eventually winning 25-17. The second set was much closer. The Tigers led early and the match was tied at 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22. The Knights were at set point at 24-23. A ball that looked to be headed out of bounds and would have tied the match at 24-24 stayed in bounds by inches and the Knights won the set 25-23. The third set was also a nail-biter, tied at 18, 20, 21, 22 and 23, but this time the Tigers scored the last two points to win 25-23 and extend the match. The Tigers were leading 6-3 in the fourth set before the momentum shifted completely to the Knights. The Knights went on a 6-0 run and shortly thereafter an 8-0 run, eventually pulling away to win the set 25-15 and the match 3-1. Two of Hagerstown’s key players left the floor during the course of the match because of injury, but Tiger head coach Brian Dale declined to make excuses.
“We will not make excuses because we lost two key players to injury during the match,” Dale said. “Other players came in and played well. Northeastern made the plays they had to make. I am just afraid at this point that they may have been season-ending injuries. We will go back to work to end the season strong and prepare for the sectional.”
Momentum is so important in volleyball, and the Knights had two extended runs in the fourth set. Northeastern head coach Anne Wissel talked about them.
“Those runs were critical obviously, but I felt like we were engaged mentally today and we stayed focused. Our two matches with Hagerstown have been great with a lot of lead changes and back-and-forth play. These teams are evenly matched and they play hard. Today the momentum was on our side at the end.”
Raleigh Doerstler led Hagerstown with 22 kills and Elly Cheeseman added 10 kills. Lilah Doerstler had 20 assists and Millie Glover had 19 assists. Hallie Pruitt had 16 digs and Lilah Doerstler had 14 digs. Northeastern statistics were not available.
Northeastern (18-6) 25 25 23 25
Hagerstown (17-9) 17 23 25 15
A version of this article appeared in the October 8 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.