Title Town VA

And....it’s a wrap. The most historic season in the history of the VHSL culminated with the crowning of the State<img class="size-medium wp-image-113890 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2020/10/vhsl-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" /> Champs! Regardless if it’s your first or your 13th, it is the experience of a lifetime. Over 200 team competed this season, but only 9 walked away with their dream ending, a state championship. The 6 classes of girl’s high school volleyball crowned their champion this weekend. Half the teams are ascending the podium for the first time, one is climbing for the first time since 1992, one is making their fifth trip to the top and the last one is making their seemingly annual ascension to the championship. Class 1: Auburn claimed their 5th state championship with a 3-0 sweep Riverheads 25-15, 25-8, 27-25. The Tigers were dominant in the first two sets, running flawlessly despite Riverhead’s continuous battling. In the third set, it was a battle back and forth as Riverheads would not roll over. Strong offense, defense and serving kept them in the set, but 5’10 Attacker and college prospect [player_tooltip player_id="111482" first="Allyson" last="Martin"] took over at the end of the match with multiple kills and a dig to seal the game. Martin is a solid D2 prospect with good ball control and attacks with range and power. She was aggressive the entire match and helped the Eagles to become back to back champions. Class 2: Giles High has been a powerhouse all season and the finals was no different.. The four seniors<img class="size-medium wp-image-139983 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/04/giles-states2.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /> Outside Hitter [player_tooltip player_id="111383" first="Hannah" last="Steele"], Middle/Outside [player_tooltip player_id="111385" first="Emma" last="Claytor"], Setter Alyssa Pennington, and Libero [player_tooltip player_id="111407" first="Jillian" last="Midkiff"] were dominant in the match, going out on top with Giles’s first state championship in their final match. Steele and Claytor were overpowering as Giles swept Luray 25-12, 25-10, and 25-13. All four are college prospects, with Steele committed to playing for Concord (WV) University in the Fall. Jaiden McClung, Lindsey Bly, Baylee and Brynlee Burrill all battled throughout, but could not overcome the power and defense of the Lady Spartans. This is the first trip for Giles to the state championship and even got a shout out on ESPM National Radio Show Marty and McGee. Marty Smith, a popular ESPN Reporter, is an alumnus of Giles High School and talks about it in his book. <img class="size-medium wp-image-132735 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/02/Kate-hitting.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" />Class 3: Rustburg last climbed the championship mountain in 1992 for girl’s volleyball, but the Red Devils will not be denied. Coach Hardie was on that championship team in 1992 and wanted for nothing more for her daughter, Junior Outside Hitter Kate Hardie, to have that feeling. From the beginning of the match, you could feel the firepower that Hardie and [player_tooltip player_id="111438" first="Anna" last="Maddox"], with Setter Meah Coles running the offense with precision and solid decision making. Coach Burnett’s New Kent squad is very solid and great at executing, but Rustburg would not be denied. Hardie finished with 16 kills. Senior [player_tooltip player_id="111438" first="Anna" last="Maddox"] concluded her career with 14 kills and a championship. She hit .500 in the match and her career end with 859 kills. Meah Coles finished with 38 assists. A balanced defensive effort saw Hardie, Libero Tinsley Abbott and Eden Bigham with 8 digs. Maddox added 7 digs. Rustburg did a great job of serving and attacking New Kent out of system for the match. Junior Outside Julia Hathaway led New Kent with 10 kills. Junior Setter [player_tooltip player_id="111472" first="Haley" last="Baker"] had a double double with 14 digs and 18 assists. Class 4: Another year, another ring for the Loudoun County Captains. This championship is number 13 in the last 14 years, including 9 in a row, the most dominant stretch in girl’s volleyball in the commonwealth. Two seniors<img class="size-medium wp-image-127796 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/01/IMG_0911-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /> helped pave the way for the Captains. Senior Middle Hitter Ella Solomon won her second championship with her second school. Solomon won a championship with Tuscarora her freshman year. She was unable to compete her sophomore and junior years due to illness and transferred to Loudoun County for her senior season and was able to bookend her high school career with championships. Fellow Senior, Alicia McCandless, is unfamiliar with not winning a championship. It’s never happened during her four years. She completes her career a perfect 4 for 4 in championships. Grafton finishes runner up to Loudoun County for the fourth consecutive year, an amazing accomplishment after losing 6 players from last year. Senior Middle Hitter Shachia Lamb recorded 10 kills and Freshman Alexis Keeter had eight kills for the Clippers. Lamb will stay in the Hampton Roads area at Norfolk State next year. <img class=" wp-image-139738 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/04/sydney-love-attacking-169x300.png" alt="" width="141" height="250" /> Class 5: The Chesapeake area has its first girl’s volleyball championship. The Hickory Hawks broke the streak by beating Freedom-South Riding 25-13, 25-21, and 25-20. The Lady Hawks have been dominant in the state tournament, sweeping both matches over a strong Atlee team in the semifinals and then handling Freedom in the finals. Senior Outside Hitter [player_tooltip player_id="111373" first="Sydney" last="Love"], a future Division 1 player at Elon, was dominant with 11 kills, 7 digs and 3 blocks. Libero Grace Williams had 17 digs, Setter Ashley Capilongo had 18 assists, and Freshman Outside Hitter Rayne Manning added 10 kills and 17 digs. Middle Blocker Ryann Love was solid at the net for the Hawks. The Hawks game plan was to keep Freedom out of system, which they did a great job of executing and disrupting the offensive flow of the Eagles. Manning is a solid well rounded player and is also a solid beach player.   Class 6: We remember the Titans from the Disney classic starring Denzel Washington, but now we will remember<img class="size-medium wp-image-139742 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/04/TC-Williams-300x270.png" alt="" width="300" height="270" /> the Lady Titans of TC Williams as well. The TC Williams versus Kellam match was by far the best and most competitive match of the state finals. It was a constant battle with the teams trading sets to lead to an epic game 5, which went to extra points. TC Williams prevailed for their first volleyball state championship 23-25, 25-19, 18-25, 25-29, and 17-15. Kellam had opportunities but fell just short in the fifth. Kellam’s Senior Outside Hitter Jessica George had a monster match with 22 kills and Setter Rhea Cammel delivered 62 assists. Sarah Thompson was also great with a double-double 18 kills and 18 digs. Isis Romine added 17 digs. Kellam led 8-3 in the fifth before TC Williams battled back and eventually took the match. For the champs, Milan Rex had a great match in all aspects who contributed in every area and was solid to close out the match. Jill Jones was great on offense and blocking at the net. Setter Chloe Wilmot set a great match and got the championship kill on a setter dump. <div class="crd clln--it" data-type="text"> <div class=" crd--cnt "> </div> </div>