An otherwise stellar season came to a disappointing end for the Mathews High School varsity volleyball team on Saturday at the VCU Siegel Center in Richmond.

Although the Lady Devils put up a tough fight, they fell to the undefeated Rappahannock County Panthers in the Group 1A state championship match, 3-1. The morning did not begin in favor of the Devils at all as they found themselves down, 6-0, to start the first set.

Mathews would fight back and narrow the margin to two points, 10-8, but the Panthers pressed hard and dominated the set, winning by a score of 25-14. Rappahannock County took an early lead in the second set as well, up 13-7, before Mathews began to fight back. The score would be tied at 20, 22 and 23 before the Panthers took the final two points to seal the set victory, 25-23.

Now, down two sets to none, Mathews refused to give up. Although they found themselves trailing early, 6-3, Mathews fought back to even the score at 6 and eventually took leads of 12-10, 20-17...