Early in the regular season, W.F. West coach Tiffany Alvarado said the questions the Bearcats asked themselves were simple.

“How do we work together?” Alvarado said. “How are we communicating?”

As the season has progressed and the games have become more meaningful, the questions have become more important.

“How do we make sure that we’re winning now?” Alvarado said. “How do we push through?”

The Bearcats answered those questions in a big way on Tuesday, overcoming a seven-point deficit in the first set to set the stage for a 26-24, 22-25, 25-16, 25-22 victory over Shelton.

The win guarantees the Bearcats a spot in one of the 2A District 4 pigtail games on Saturday, and they are still in contention to host if they win their final regular season game at Black Hills on Thursday.

“It’s really big,” Alvarado said. “We’re excited for it … We’d really like a home-court advantage if we can get there. They’re pushing hard for that spot.”

That home-court advantage paid dividends early against Shelton on Tuesday.

Down 20-13 in the first set, Shelton committed an unforced error to give W.F. West the ball. Grace Simpson promptly delivered an ace, and the W.F. West crowd started to come to life.

The Bearcats scored four of the next five points to get within two, but a few points later, they trailed 24-21. Another unforced error from the Highclimbers kept them alive, and W.F. West scored the next four points to complete the early comeback.

“It definitely set the tone,” Alvarado said. “They’ve struggled when they get into a hole like that, and tonight they pushed through it. It really did mean the difference.”

Shelton responded by taking the second set, but the Bearcats responded again by taking an early lead in Set 3. They later went on a 9-1 run to pull away. That momentum carried over into the fourth set, where they held off a late Shelton run to seal the match.

Not only did Simpson make her share of great play, including several kills and blocks in the first two sets, but other Bearcats stepped up over the final two sets.

Vivy Witchey, Arianna Wheaton, and Emma McGreal each had kills late in the fourth set, as well as kills and blocks throughout the third and fourth sets.

Alvarado recently moved McGreal to the right side and she pushed Wheaton from the outside to the middle. Witchey is a freshman JV/Varsity swing player.

“Making sure that I’ve got great hitters at the net is what we need to do,” Alvarado said. “And that’s what they did tonight.”

The Bearcats also helped themselves at the service line, limiting the errors that cost them the last time they played Shelton. In that matchup, they committed 20 serving errors.

Ashley Mueller led the way at the line by going 16 for 16 with three aces and 11 digs, while McGreal added five kills, four aces, and an ace. Witchey finished with seven kills and three stuff blocks, while Simpson tallied 11 kills, six digs, five stuff blocks, and two aces. 

Wheaton ended the night with 10 digs, five kills, three aces, and a stuff block.

It was an excellent final regular season win in the home gym for four seniors — Addison Froschauer, Addison Adams, Marley McGreal, and Simpson.

“They’re absolutely wonderful,” Alvarado said. “I honestly could not have chosen a better community to come to as a coach. These girls just make every day fun and exciting, and I really will miss them a lot.”

W.F. West (5-11, 3-6 2A EvCo) will go to Black Hills on Thursday. The winner will host the No. 6 seed from the GSHL in one pigtail game, while the loser will head south to play the GSHL’s No. 5 seed in the other. Both of those games are on Saturday.