CHARLESTON, W.Va. — After No. 1 Wirt County and No. 2 Gilmer County split the first two sets of Thursday’s Class A final, the Tigers had a leg up on the Titans by accounting for 10 of the first 15 points in the third game.

The next point proved to be as important as any in the contest. Wirt and Gilmer battled back-and-forth for nearly 2 minutes, with each side continuously digging to keep hope alive for the point on multiple instances, before the Tigers scored it to gain a six-point advantage. The lengthy volley that went Wirt’s way seemed to demoralize Gilmer and the Tigers went on to win the third and fourth sets in convincing fashion to earn their 14th state championship with a 25-19, 23-25, 25-12, 25-10 victory at the Charleston Coliseum.

“We talk about not giving up silly points and

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