Top High Schools in the Other District Races (Part two)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is part two of the top high schools reviewed in each of the District races. Sunday I took a look at the Liberty, Patriot, Cedar Run and Cardinal Districts. Next week I will review the status of the Northwestern, WCAC and ISL, The Division races were based on what was reported to Max Preps. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Concorde</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Oakton</strong> (8-2) battled Chantilly last night for the Concorde District crown and won in four. Their big hitter who they count on the most is <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='209789' first='Seliz' last='Aktuglu']</strong>. She is relied on to get the kills when the games get tight. They also have <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='209792' first='Jocelyn' last='Shortle']</strong> to hit from the left side and a solid middle in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181188' first='Jade' last='Brooks']</strong>, who runs the quicks well. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='231677' first='Sydney' last='Hess']</strong> is a libero you can count on to play good defense and give you a pass, but <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='235291' first='Sadee' last='Gedse']</strong> is also quite capable in that role. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Chantilly</strong> (7-3) lost in four to Oakton Thursday night. Chantilly had swept their last three matches but Oakton proved to be a tougher opponent. The team is dependent on the success of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181297' first='Lameen' last='Mambu'] </strong>putting the ball down if they hope to see wins. She is one of the top ranked players in the class of 2025. Her setter is <strong>Jaylin Price</strong>, who at 5'1"can be a handicap in the front row, but her steadiness with her hands allows her to set a 5/1. They have two good back row players in libero <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='238097' first='Angelina' last='Barrera']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181284' first='Nola' last='Murphy']</strong>. Chantilly had beaten Oakton in five the last time these two teams played. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>James Madison</strong> (6-3 )lurked close in this division. The two losses to Oakton knocked them out of the race. They have two strong middles in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='209796' first='Camille' last='Pomeroy']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='230817' first='Riley' last='Lynch']</strong> who can cover a lot of territory with their big blocks. Libero <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='209800' first='Sydney' last='Pham']</strong> may be their most important player because her passing and defense set up this offense. Sydney also leads the team in aces. Senior setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='111510' first='Natalie' last='Lauer'] </strong>provides a veteran presence to this offense but the future may lie with frosh <strong>Anasofia Zanellato</strong>, who has the height and ability to play right side. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181105' first='Lauren' last='Brown']</strong> and <strong>Michelle Jargalan</strong> share the left side duties. Jargalan leads the team in kills but Brown is not that far behind. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>My preseason pick was Oakton.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>National</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hayfield </strong>(12-1) took the National District trophy by sweeping Edison on Monday night. They did it with a nice blocking combination of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='236647' first='Elizabeth' last='Stackpole'],</strong> who seemed to switch off between middle and left side and <strong>Princess Boakye </strong>who played both middle and right side. Left side <strong>Emily Weber</strong> had a devasting serve that forced the coach to call three time outs during her service rotations. She must have recorded a dozen aces in the match. <strong>Kaia Lyons</strong> is a smooth libero. She played defense well and moved her feet to get to the serve. <strong> Diana Cseke</strong> set a 5/1 and showed good hustle for the ball. <strong>Taylor Hodge</strong> was the other middle that was prominent in the blocking scheme. She also contributed the game winning kill that completed the sweep for Hayfield. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='183408' first='Mary' last='Dinegar']</strong> was the other left side the Hawks counted on to put the ball away. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Edison</strong> (12-4) took the second place trophy. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='236646' first='Elizabeth' last='Hulett']</strong> put some balls down from the left side using her left handed swing. She also incorporates a jump spin serve that kept Hayfield off balance. <strong>Isabella Pared</strong> is the other left side. <strong>Isabel Rios</strong> is a right side that has some length and reach in her swing but needs to develop a little more consistency in where she hits the ball. <strong>Jacqueline Walker </strong>shared the setting job with <strong>Amanda Shelton</strong> in the first game, then was used in the 5/1 for the last two sets. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181308' first='Taylor' last='Erickson']</strong> can run some quick middles. The libero is <strong>Mia Shirley Jimenez</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> My pick for the National was Justice.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Dulles </strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rock Ridge</strong> (14-1) lost only to second place Dominion to run away with the Dulles District championship. We have not seen this team play yet, but <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='209791' first='Grace' last='Tucker']</strong> is a solid left side while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='238098' first='Ankita' last='Kamath']</strong> and <strong>Michelle Kim</strong> sling up the sets. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181111' first='Annika' last='Engen']</strong> at 5'10" appears to hit one of the middles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Dominion</strong> (11-4) is the only team to have taken Rock Ridge down. They rely on their three big hitters in left sides <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181209' first='Kennedy' last='Seekford']</strong> and <strong>Alena</strong> <strong>Smith</strong>, plus right side <strong>Kaitlyn Demitz</strong>. The setting duties are shared by <strong>Emma Adiaconite</strong>i and <strong>Juliet Correll</strong>. Kennedy is the only senior of that group while the other four are sophomores. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='111508' first='Haley' last='Gill']</strong> is one of the top liberos in the area. You can count on her for consistent passing and scrambling defense. <strong> Maya Van Wyngaardt</strong> leads the team in blocking playing one of the middles. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Loudoun County</strong> (11-4) lost their first four games of the season. They recovered to win 10 of their next 11 but stumbled again to lose their last three to Dominion, Rock Ridge and Loudoun Valley. Not the kind of season a ten time defending State champion would like to see in their season. The two left sides <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='209170' first='Corinne' last='Bonamassa']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='523308' first='Madison' last='LaRue'] </strong>were the top two offensive players, finishing first and second in kills. <strong>Alayna Johnson</strong> played a solid libero. The two middles <strong>Gabriella Morriss </strong>and<strong> Sydney Howard</strong> finished first and second in blocking. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the Dulles District we had picked Broad Run </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Potomac</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Riverside (</strong>8-1) won back to back matches against Briar Woods to take this District. Left side <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='235282' first='Adriana' last='Perodin']</strong> is the big gun on the team. She hits the ball hard but can be a bit wild. Middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='225187' first='Simone' last='Schaefer']</strong> is only a sophomore but plays like a veteran. She has good length at 5'10", putting balls away with grace and power. Right side <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181309' first='Brianna' last='Holladay']</strong> is another sophomore who also contributes to the offense. Seniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='200199' first='Ava' last='Ray'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='238096' first='Sage' last='Duggal']</strong> provide a veteran presence to the setting position. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='238099' first='Samantha' last='Ferguson']</strong> is a solid contributor at the other middle. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181240' first='Natalie' last='Carlin'] </strong>covers a lot of ground with her quick feet in her libero role. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Briar Woods </strong>(8-3) lost back to back to Riverside to finish in second place. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='237667' first='Skyler' last='Riggio'] </strong>was their big hitter from the right side. When the Falcons needed a point it was usually Riggio that got the set. The setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='237654' first='Jenna' last='Van der Biezen']</strong> had nice hands and ran a variety of quick tempo sets to keep the other teams off balance. She liked to feed the middles <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='237668' first='Shannon' last='Callaghan'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='237669' first='Emily' last='Peterson']</strong>. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='237670' first='Janssens' last='Arabia']</strong> gave the team some offense from the left side. She is a lefty swinging junior. The Falcons counted on frosh <strong>Molly Gardner</strong> to cover the back row. She did a good job with quiet arms for passing and dug quite a few hard hits. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>My pick for this District was defending State champion Stonebridge but they collapsed mid season with four straight District losses. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Chesapeake Chirps</strong>: <strong>James Woods</strong> downed <strong>Millbrook</strong> to win the Northwestern District. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181302' first='Kennedy' last='Spaid']</strong> led the charge with 16 kills. James Woods also had a tough battle with <strong>North Hagerstown</strong>, winning in five. They won the last set 17-15. Spaid again led the team with 20 kills....<strong>Hidden Valley </strong>came close to seeing their first loss of the season. They hung on to beat Christianburg in five, winning the fifth set 16-14. [player_tooltip player_id='196556' first='Caleigh' last='Ponn'] finished the match with 30 kills.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->