Big Surprises in the District Playoffs

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There were some interesting contests in the District playoff matches. In some cases it was "out with the old and in with the new". In others it was more like "same old same old". Below are the champions of the 9 Northern Virginia Districts.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Chantilly Chargers Overcome Oakton Cougars</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If there was a match to watch this was the one. It was a tough task for Oakton to figure out how to stop the high flying <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181297' first='Lameen' last='Mambu']</strong>, who was the principal piece of the offense for Chantilly. They also got contributions from left side <strong>Samantha Holobow</strong> and right side <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='240907' first='Aspen' last='Nardelli']</strong> but Mambu was the go to girl they had to stop. The Cougars were a little more balanced with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='209789' first='Seliz' last='Aktuglu']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='209792' first='Jocelyn' last='Shortle']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181188' first='Jade' last='Brooks'] </strong>and frosh<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='238857' first='Julie' last='Xu']</strong> sharing the offensive load, but Seliz is the player Oakton relies on the most.<img class="wp-image-185920" style="width: 150px" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/03/mimi-2.jpg" alt=""></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first set saw Chantilly run away with the game 25-17. Chantilly also appeared to have control of game two jumping out to a 23-18 lead. A <strong>Katherine Mahieu</strong> block of [player_tooltip player_id='181297' first='Lameen' last='Mambu'] to make it 23-19 appeared to turn things around. A<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='209792' first='Jocelyn' last='Shortle'] </strong>back row attack made it 23-21 and a series of Chantilly errors put the Cougars ahead 24-23. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='181297' first='Lameen' last='Mambu'] had a kill in the back row to tie it 24-24. The teams traded points after errors but <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='240905' first='Samantha' last='Hollobow']</strong> came through with a tip to put Chantilly up again 26-25. Frosh <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='238857' first='Julie' last='Xu'] </strong>brought her clutch to the game, rifling a kill off the block of Mambu to tie the game again. With Mambu back in the front row it was time for her to deal, starting with a kill to put the Chargers up again 27-26. The Cougars were able to dig the next attempted Mambu kill, but it went too far over the net and Mambu put the final touches on the dig with a two handed block/kill to the floor to put Chantilly up two games to none.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oakton picked up some confidence from their game two performance. [player_tooltip player_id='181188' first='Jade' last='Brooks'] hammered a couple quick sets to the floor that energized the crowd and the team. Two incredible digs by libero <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='235291' first='Sadee' last='Gedse'] </strong>and [player_tooltip player_id='209789' first='Seliz' last='Aktuglu'] on [player_tooltip player_id='181297' first='Lameen' last='Mambu'] attempted kills put Oakton up 13-11. Too many missed serves by Oakton hurt them throughout the match and it hurt them through this stretch as Chantilly was able to claw their way to a 19-19 tie. A [player_tooltip player_id='209789' first='Seliz' last='Aktuglu'] kill, a shanked pass and a Joyce Shortle back row attack put Oakton on top 22-19.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another errant Oakton serve gave Chantilly the ball back but they could not take advantage and lost serve. Another Aktuglu kill put the score at 24-20 and a shanked dig on a free ball gave Oakton their first win, 25-20.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Game four was the wild one. It was more a battle of the officiating crew and the Chantilly coach. It started when the up ref called the Oakton setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='240903' first='Ellen' last='Noh'] </strong>for a back row attack on an attempted dump into the blocker's hands. When he was informed the setter was in the front row he reversed his decision, ruling that Chantilly had interfered with her attempt to set and gave the point to Oakton. <strong> Daniel Molina</strong> tried to argue it should have been a replay since the setter hit it into the block but he failed to sway the officials. Back to back doubles calls against two different Chantilly setters further increased his anger and the first red card was issued. Oakton won game four 25-21 and the second red card was issued to Molina after game four had ended, giving Oakton a 1-0 lead to start game five.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oakton could not take advantage, missing their first two serves. [player_tooltip player_id='181297' first='Lameen' last='Mambu'] and right side <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='240907' first='Aspen' last='Nardelli']</strong> took over after that. Mambu got a number of kills to get the team to 14 and Aspen got the game winning kill to give Chantilly the game five win 15-6.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was a big win for [player_tooltip player_id='181297' first='Lameen' last='Mambu'] and defensive specialist <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='238097' first='Angelina' last='Barrera']</strong>. Back in 2018 their older sisters <strong>Mujay Mambu </strong>and <strong>Adriana Barrera</strong> played on the Chantilly state championship team. Angelina and Lameen hope to repeat that accomplishment in 2022. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One final note: both liberos, sophomores <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181284' first='Nola' last='Murphy']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='235291' first='Sadee' last='Gedse']</strong> played excellent games. Sadee made some digs from Mambu attempted kills that were sensational. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Dulles District Tournament</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I was able to watch the semi-final match between Dominion and Loudoun Valley. Dominion has a young team that relies on sophomore setters <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='240028' first='Emma' last='Adiaconitei']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='240029' first='Juliet' last='Correll']</strong>. They also have sophomore middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='240025' first='Abigail' last='Vasak']</strong> and right side <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='240027' first='Kaitlyn' last='Demitz'] </strong>provide a share of their offense. They do have veteran leadership in senior middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='240022' first='Maya' last='Van Wyngaardt'] </strong>and outside <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181209' first='Kennedy' last='Seekford']</strong> (pictured below) to share with the offense. Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='111508' first='Haley' last='Gill'] </strong>is perhaps the top libero in the class of 2023 and did not disappoint with a number of amazing digs and precision passing. <img class="wp-image-189728" style="width: 150px" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/04/Kennedy.jpg" alt=""></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dominion was able to sweep Loudoun Valley getting nine kills from Seekford and seven from Demitz. Seekford also contributed six aces in the three sets. [player_tooltip player_id='111508' first='Haley' last='Gill'] had four aces and 17 digs, including a dig on a hard driven ball in which she had to dive to her left to pull out a one armed save. Those are the kind of digs that get the juices flowing.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Loudoun Valley had their own senior libero in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='209185' first='Carly' last='Zimmet']</strong>. You have to love her enthusiasm on the court and her hustle. There was not a ball that had yet to hit the floor that she did not attempt to make a flying dive for. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181109' first='Amy' last='Wood']</strong> was a big time terminator from the left side. Don't know if it was a sister combination, but senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='240023' first='Madelyn' last='Helm']</strong> and sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='240898' first='Julia' last='Helm']</strong> shared the middle blocking responsibilities.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dominion went on to sweep Broad Run to win the Dulles District tournament. Broad Run had to beat 10 time Class 4 champ Loudoun County and number one seed Rock Ridge to advance to the finals. It appears Loudoun County's ten year reign of championships have come to an end. Rock Ridge, Millbrook, James Wood and Dominion are the four teams in the Class 4 Division to survive into the Regional championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Other District championships</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Langley </strong>beat <strong>Marshall</strong> for a third time, sweeping them to win the Liberty District.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hayfield</strong> also beat <strong>Edison</strong> for a third time to win the National District, winning in four.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Colgan</strong> also beat <strong>Forest Park </strong>for the third time, sweeping them to win the Cardinal District. Colgan is the defending Class 6 State champions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Battlefield</strong> swept <strong>Patriot</strong> to win the Cedar Run District.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It took four but <strong>Riverside </strong>beat<strong> Briar Woods </strong>for the Potomac District crown. This is another young team with left side junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='235282' first='Adriana' last='Perodin']</strong>, right side sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181309' first='Brianna' last='Holladay']</strong> and sophomore middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='225187' first='Simone' last='Schaefer']</strong> leading the offense. They will lose their senior setters <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='200199' first='Ava' last='Ray'] </strong>(pictured below) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='238096' first='Sage' last='Duggal']</strong>.<img class="wp-image-211278" style="width: 150px" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/07/ava.jpg" alt=""></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Alexandria City</strong> had lost only two games all season and they were both to <strong>Robinson</strong>. They got some revenge in the Patriot District championship by beating them in four games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Millbrook</strong> also got some revenge against previously undefeated <strong>James Woods</strong>. They had lost to them twice during the regular season. During the Northwestern District championship they swept James Woods, led by the 37 assists from setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181177' first='Madison' last='Koeller'] </strong>and the 13 kills and 11 digs by<strong> Berkeley Konrady</strong>. <strong>Gracie Behneke</strong> also contributed 13 kills. Super frosh <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181302' first='Kennedy' last='Spaid']</strong> had 12 kills in the loss. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Chesapeake Chirps</strong>: Normally when I get to a game I am a late arrival because I coach high school so I am coming from a practice. The game has already started so since I am not that familiar with many of the faces I only write the numbers down if the player has done something that has impressed me. The first players I tend to notice are the left sides. In the Dominion/Loudoun Valley game it was quite different. The first players that stood out were the two liberos. When I looked up the rosters to see their name I then knew why. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='111508' first='Haley' last='Gill'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='209185' first='Carly' last='Zimmet'] </strong>- they also impressed me for their club team Paramount....I did not get to mention Chantilly setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='240906' first='Jaylin' last='Price'].</strong> She is a very consistent setter and the team runs smoothly with her in the back row. At 5'2" she is a bit small to be playing front row and that is where Chantilly struggled a bit. They do have some promising young setters in sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='664141' first='Hala' last='Younes']</strong> and frosh <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='240899' first='Sarah' last='Kim']</strong>, but youth brings inconsistency. As I told one parent, at the varsity level the game moves fast. A frosh will have more downs than ups. That is just the nature of learning the game and playing against more experienced players. It is not like club where you are usually playing with your own age group. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->