Review of the 2022 State Championship March

For the fifth consecutive season Flint Hill won the VISAA Division I State Championship. They downed Norfolk Academy three games to one. Norfolk Academy actually took the first set 25-19, which was the first set Flint Hill has lost all season. The Huskies recovered from that setback and won the next three.   Flint Hill would have ten consecutive championships if not for a Bishop O'Connell win over Flint Hill in the 2016 championship game. The Knights were hoping to be in the championship match this year but they lost to Norfolk Academy in the semi-finals three games to one. That was a bit of revenge match for Norfolk Academy, who in 2021 lost to O'Connell in the semi-finals last year.   Norfolk Academy is led on the outside by [player_tooltip player_id='245595' first='Reagan' last='McGee'] and Gabby Harvey. Reagan also played some incredible defense against the Knights, digging up every ball hit near her. She also was their go to person on offense, finishing the game with 27 kills. Her younger sister [player_tooltip player_id='245600' first='Peyton' last='McGee'] has a cannon for an arm on the right side. Reagan strung together 14 kills while Peyton added 12 in a losing cause to Flint Hill. [player_tooltip player_id='245596' first='Alden' last='Roberts'] is a magical setter who keeps the middles guessing every time she puts up a set. She had 45 assists and five aces against O'Connell and 34 assists against Flint Hill. Norfolk Academy may not have won a State championship, but they were the only team this year to take a set against Flint Hill. That in itself is a major accomplishment.   Alexandria City Marches on   The Titans got an incredible performance from [player_tooltip player_id='181178' first='Milan' last='Rex'] to eliminate the Langley Saxons from the playoffs, beating them in four. Milan finished the game with 30 kills and 20 digs. [player_tooltip player_id='181179' first='Chloe' last='Wilmot'] also added 16 digs, pretty impressive for a setter.   When Milan hits the ball the digs go backwards. Very rarely do they go up or even forward towards the net, because the velocity on her hits is so great the defenders are always late bringing up their arms. She also has the ability to find the open court, hitting roll shots in areas where the Langly defenders just could not reach them.   Langley did come back to win game three 25-19, led by four kills from senior [player_tooltip player_id='181110' first='Sophia' last='Galova']. Two of her kills came back to back to extend the Saxon lead to 12-9. Back to back kills by [player_tooltip player_id='180292' first='Riley' last='Buddie'] further extended the lead to 14-9. Sophia ended the game with a tip and a 25-19 win.   Milan took charge in game four with 10 of her 30 kills, including a final kill off the block to give the Titans a 25-22 victory. She also made two stellar defensive saves that gave Alexandria points, one while diving right on a hard driven ball that [player_tooltip player_id='181179' first='Chloe' last='Wilmot'] was able to dump over the net for an 8-7 lead. She dug another Langley hit just inches from the floor where [player_tooltip player_id='233012' first='Bridie' last='Wendling'] used the block to put a ball away and give Alexandria a 23-18 lead. Those were momentum shifters.   After winning their first 23 games of the season Langley lost their last two to be eliminated from the State playoffs. They are a young team with many returning starters that were a key to the success of the team this year. The Saxons will be back.   Other State Championship Results   In other Class 6 action, Colgan swept Grassfield to advance to the semifinals where they will face Kellam. [player_tooltip player_id='209790' first='Aubrey' last='Hatch'] led the charge with 11 kills, seven aces and 11 digs.   Kellam swept Forest Park. After losing the first game 25-9, Forest Park made things a little more competitive, losing the second 28-26 and the final 25-17. Kellam was led by the 17 kills from Maeson Peterson and 14 kills from Avery Hanley. Allie Irving ran the offense, distributing 44 assists.   Chantilly outlasted Robinson taking them down in five. They will face Alexandria City in the other semifinal game.   In Class 5 action Midlothian took down Riverside in four. The two teams split the first two games with Midlothian taking the first 25-21 and Riverside bouncing back to win the second 25-20. Midlothian won game four 25-23.   Midlothian will play Massaponax in a semifinal match while First Colonial will play Cox. Massaponax took down Deep Run in five, winning the final game 15-8. Three of the five games were decided by two points, with two of them going overtime (26-24). Cox swept Menchville while First Colonial swept Maury.   In Class 4 action James Wood took down Glass in four. [player_tooltip player_id='181302' first='Kennedy' last='Spaid'] led the team in kills with 16. [player_tooltip player_id='242037' first='Ashlynn' last='Spence'] contributed 13 kills and three blocks. James Wood will play Dominion, who beat Western Albemarle in five, winning the final 15-11.   [player_tooltip player_id='181209' first='Kennedy' last='Seekford'] led Dominion in kills with 14 while [player_tooltip player_id='346738' first='Alena' last='Smith'] was right behind her with 13. [player_tooltip player_id='111508' first='Haley' last='Gill'] dug up 25 hits and contributed three aces. Sofia Beard led Western Albemarle with 14 kills   King George will play Grafton in the other semifinal match. Grafton swept Atlee with [player_tooltip player_id='233007' first='Alexis' last='Keeter'] stringing together 20 kills to lead the offense. Grafton has been in the finals the last five years, losing all five times to Loudoun County. King George won in four over Deep Creek.   Georgetown Day Wins their first DCSAA Volleyball State Championship   Last year Georgetown Day lost in the finals to Wilson (now Jackson Reed) in the DCSAA. This year they had to face WCAC powerhouse St. Johns if they wanted to take the DC crown for the first time. It took some perseverance, but after being behind in the first two games they came back to win 27-25 and 25-19. St. Johns crushed them in game three 25-15 and took an 8-3 lead in the fourth set. After losing in five to Jackson Reed last year they did not want this one to go five.   They came back to win 25-23. [player_tooltip player_id='181763' first='Jada' last='Aksu'] led the team with 15 kills and 10 digs. Izzy Evers contributed 9 kills but she also kept the team up with her energy when it appeared a loss was at hand. The tournament MVP [player_tooltip player_id='180285' first='Clara' last='Yu'] distributed 30 assists and provided a steady presence on the court.   [player_tooltip player_id='238356' first='Morgan' last='Reeves'] finished the game with 15 kills for the Cadets. Middle [player_tooltip player_id='181183' first='Pam' last='McCune'] added 14 kills and put up 7 blocks.

For the fifth consecutive season Flint Hill won the VISAA Division I State Championship. They downed Norfolk Academy three games to one. Norfolk Academy actually took the first set 25-19, which was the first set Flint Hill has lost all season. The Huskies recovered from that setback and won the next three.