Exciting Finishes Earn State Championship Glory

The Virginia volleyball state championship is completed and below is a summary of the three matches.   Alexandria City Wins Their Second State Championship   When Alexandria won their first state championship it was in 2020 when they were called TC Williams and the pandemic had postponed volleyball until the spring. Teams were usually not at full strength because some of the more experienced players were involved in club volleyball. Alexandria City won the State championship that year beating Kellam in five, winning the last game 17-15.   Last year they lost to an Akasha Anderson led Herndon team in five in the semi-finals, their first and only loss of the season. Colgan defeated Herndon in the finals to win their first State championship. This came down to a battle of the last two state champions in Class 6.   [player_tooltip player_id='181178' first='Milan' last='Rex'] was the star of this championship match. The official recordings have her down for 26 kills and 25 digs. In my play by play notes I show she had 39 kills, 17 of them coming on roll shots from the back row. It was almost like Milan had a GPS in the volleyball that directed it to find the open spot on the court once she made contact with it.   Later in the match Colgan appeared to have [player_tooltip player_id='181185' first='Brielle' last='Kemavor'] block anytime Milan was set in the back row. After the Titans won the first two games 25-22 and 25-20 the strategy seemed to pay off. Milan had 10 kills each in games one and two. They were down to 15 in games three and four. In game three a [player_tooltip player_id='181178' first='Milan' last='Rex'] spike went into the net for a 25-22 set back. In game four Kemavor blocked a Milan roll shot to finish off a 25-19 win.   In the fifth and deciding set there appeared to be a missed touch on a free ball that went out giving Colgan a 13-11 lead. Alexandria City got the serve back at 13-12 when [player_tooltip player_id='181185' first='Brielle' last='Kemavor'] was called for blocking over the net to interfere with a set by [player_tooltip player_id='181179' first='Chloe' last='Wilmot']. The next serve by Wilmot was passed over the net and [player_tooltip player_id='231672' first='Annalie' last='McCarthy'] was there for the redirect block/kill that tied the game 13-13. Another Wilmot serve was poorly passed resulting in another Titan point to give them a 14-13 lead. The last Titan point to give them a 15-13 win was a [player_tooltip player_id='181178' first='Milan' last='Rex'] roll shot that Colgan scrambled for but could not prevent the ball from dustring the floor. A vibrant celebration followed for the Titans.   The [player_tooltip player_id='181185' first='Brielle' last='Kemavor'] calls for blocking over the net happened on at least three occasions. It got the coach a yellow card for arguing the call and almost turned game four around. It turned a possible 21-15 lead into a 20-16 advantage. When the Titans scored the next three points it was 20-19. Kemavor brought the Titans back with a statement block and a stare across the net, followed with a kill to put them ahead 23-20.   The two liberos, [player_tooltip player_id='235292' first='Zana' last='Royster'] for Alexandria City and [player_tooltip player_id='207594' first='Paula' last='Sigurani'] for Colgan, each played well. Both passed nails and played excellent defense. Zana is only a sophomore and improved greatly as the season progressed. Paula is a junior and will return for one more year.   Both setters [player_tooltip player_id='181179' first='Chloe' last='Wilmot'] and [player_tooltip player_id='231633' first='Alexis' last='Scipione'] finished with more than 40 assists. Chloe had four blocks, including one that ended game one. [player_tooltip player_id='181185' first='Brielle' last='Kemavor'] managed 15 kills despite being triple blocked. She also had 11 blocks of her own, including a couple that may have been taken away from her by officiating calls interpreting that she was interfering with the set by blocking over the net. [player_tooltip player_id='209790' first='Aubrey' last='Hatch'] contributed 13 kills.   Serving was an issue for Colgan. They missed 16 serves in the match, including four in the final 15 point game to allow the Titans to overcome an early 4-1 deficit. In the end I would expect that if these two teams played ten matches they may each win five. On Saturday they only played won and Alexandria City was the winner.   Alexandria City won the five set match 25-22, 25-20, 22-25, 19-25 and 15-13   Midlothian Wins First State Championship   There was an article in the Richmond Times that stated a Richmond High School had not won a state volleyball championship since 2015. That streak appears to be over with the first State championship won by Midlothian. Last year the Trojans lost in the semifinals. This year they failed to lose a match, taking it to the final set in their last match but winning 15-13.   Tatum Evans and [player_tooltip player_id='190541' first='Hannah' last='Ball'] led Midlothian from the outside. Brooke Eslinger made some sparkling plays as a libero, diving for balls and reaching out with one arm to make the dig. She is one player that is not afraid to mop the floor with her jersey. Wherever the ball went she followed. She probably could have covered the whole court.   Middle Reagan McAdams was the Trojans key contributor in their game five win. She had four kills and one block, her last kill giving Midlothian a 14-12 lead. After they missed the serve [player_tooltip player_id='190541' first='Hannah' last='Ball'] finished the game off with a kill to make it 15-13, though the line official was ruling that the free ball pass was outside the antennae as it crossed the net. It did not really matter, because the pile on had already begun after the Ball spike hit the floor.   Listed at 5'6" each, the First Colonial hitters are small for outsides, but both were powerful. Cecilia Miller was credited with 16 kills and I show [player_tooltip player_id='465285' first='Keely' last='Heffelfinger'] with 11 kills. They did not worry about quick sets in the middle. [player_tooltip player_id='481863' first='Madison' last='Horn'] was quite proficient at hitting the higher sets off the block or smashing them to the floor.   Junior Kayla Foley was one of the better liberos I have seen this season. She communicated well in the back row, was on point on almost all of her passes, played some incredible defense, had good touch with her hand sets and seemed to know where to give the hitters their out of system sets. She preferred to play with the bulky elbow pads covering her arms rather than the sleeves that everyone wears now. The First Colonial frosh right side Teagan Emdadi shows some promise. She had two redirect block/kills that changed the complexion of two games.   Midlothian wins in five 26-24, 13-25, 26-28, 25-16 and 15-13.   James Woods Colonels Win Their First State Championship   In the Class 4 playoff chase there has not been a state champion other than the Loudoun County Captains since 2011. This year the Captains did not qualify to participate in the States, losing their opening playoff match in the District qualifiers.   Grafton has been to the last six finals. The previous five they lost to the Captains. This year they lost to the Colonels. Perhaps next year they will get to play the Generals and win a final?   [player_tooltip player_id='181302' first='Kennedy' last='Spaid'] and [player_tooltip player_id='181280' first='Brenna' last='Corbin'] were the stars for James Wood. Kennedy had 15 kills and 17 digs. The 5'4" outside [player_tooltip player_id='181280' first='Brenna' last='Corbin'] finished with 12 kills and 14 digs. [player_tooltip player_id='233483' first='Ella' last='Kelchner'] finished off with four blocks.   Every time I watch [player_tooltip player_id='180282' first='Paige' last='Ahakuelo'] play I come away impressed. She moves so quickly for the ball and she has great confidence in using her hands at all times to set. She also puts a good swing at the ball when given an opportunity to hit despite her 5'6" height.   Outside [player_tooltip player_id='233007' first='Alexis' last='Keeter'] and middle [player_tooltip player_id='233446' first='Madison' last='Livengood'] were the big hitters for Grafton. [player_tooltip player_id='231668' first='Alondra' last='Miranda-Pagan'] is only 5'3" but she is such a good setter she stays in the game setting, even when she is in the front row. She moves around really well on the court with quick and balanced feet, guarding for the short tips inside the three meter line.   James Wood was able to sweep this match 25-18, 25-19 and 25-16.   Chesapeake Chirps: I did not get an opportunity to watch the Class 1 through 3 finals in Salem. Hidden Valley took their first loss of the year, losing to York in five. The last game was 15-11. Hidden Valley won the first two but could not finish it off. [player_tooltip player_id='196556' first='Caleigh' last='Ponn'] finished with 39 kills and 38 digs. She ended the season with over 700 kills, the only player in the state of Virginia with over 700 kills according to Max Preps...Glenvar swept past East Rockingham to win the Class 2 Division. They did not lose a set in the State playoffs and finished the season 26-0, with only one set loss....Auburn beat Rappahannock in four. They avenged an earlier loss to them during the regular season when they lost in five.

The Virginia volleyball state championship is completed and below is a summary of the three matches.