Battle of Bethesda Won by Holy Cross

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The two number one seeds, Holy Cross and Richard Montgomery faced each other in the finals. While it was a battle, Holy Cross swept them in two. More details below. Another post will identify the standouts who impressed for each team. First, my all tournament team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["352786"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65198d68c1106"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Battle of Bethesda All Tournament Team </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>MVP - <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='180288' first='Emerson' last='Sellman']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Setters - <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='235748' first='Ema' last='Djordjevic'] (</strong>Richard Montgomery), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='244159' first='Jaylyn' last='Simon']</strong> (Holy Cross) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='298857' first='Ingrid' last='Smith']</strong> (Dominion)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Outsides - <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='412056' first='Elizabeth' last='Mitchell'] </strong>(Richard Montgomery), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='180288' first='Emerson' last='Sellman']</strong> (Holy Cross), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='346738' first='Alena' last='Smith']</strong> (Dominion)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Middles - <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='235324' first='Rowan' last='Johnson']</strong> (Holy Cross), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='478769' first='Ariel' last='Mazor']</strong> (Walter Johnson), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='309031' first='Caroline' last='Kaye']</strong> (Richard Montgomery)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Right Side - <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='240027' first='Kaitlyn' last='Demitz'] </strong>(Dominion)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Libero/Defensive specialists - <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='352786' first='Cassandra' last='Bradley']</strong> (Richard Montgomery), <strong>Ella Nam</strong> (Clarksburg) </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Perhaps other teams had greater talent, but no team but the Tartans of Holy Cross had <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='180288' first='Emerson' last='Sellman']</strong>. When she got hold of a ball a buzz of excitement filled the gym. No player got the reaction that Sellman got from her hits.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Never saw <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='235748' first='Ema' last='Djordjevic'] </strong>as a setter. For her club MVSA she played left side. She brings the skill set for the setting position. Good hands, quick movement to the ball and nice touch (or tempo) to set the middle. Any college seeking a 6'0" left handed setter that can put the ball down harder than most left sides should look her way. They are not easy to find.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='298857' first='Ingrid' last='Smith']</strong> was the only frosh to make the team. She ran a 5/1 for Dominion. Great skills for setting. Jump sets on almost every set, whether she is in the front row or back row. Brings the quickness to use her hands on almost every second contact and the ball comes out with nice arc and never a spin. Beautifully consistent. The only down side at the moment is her 5'7" height. However, the athleticism exists for her to jump and get her hands over the net.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='352786' first='Cassandra' last='Bradley']</strong> ranks in the class of 2024 and has yet to commit. If any college seeks a libero that dug [player_tooltip player_id='180288' first='Emerson' last='Sellman'] four times as easy as many of us dig change out of our pocket, take a look at her. She plays incredible defense, consistently passes perfect balls to the setter and loves playing the game of volleyball. Expect a rise in her rankings based on her performance. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There were also a number of talented frosh playing in the tournament. Below is my all frosh team:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["298857"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65198d68c1161"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Battle of Bethesda All Frosh Team</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Setters - <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='298857' first='Ingrid' last='Smith']</strong> (Dominion), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='438058' first='Vivian' last='Ngan'] </strong>(Clarksburg)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Outsides - <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='438053' first='Lucille' last='Deraleau'] </strong>(Churchill), <strong>Saesha Dhote</strong> (Richard Montgomery), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='465327' first='Michaela' last='Anderson']</strong> (Walter Johnson). <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='438091' first='Catherine' last='McIntyre']</strong> (Holy Cross), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='529440' first='Emilia' last='Zhang']</strong> (Walter Johnson)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Middle - <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='465322' first='Siyena' last='Fitsum']</strong> (Churchill), <strong>Katherine Giesecke</strong> (Walt Whitman)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Libero - <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='438049' first='Ana' last='Djordjevic']</strong> (Richard Montgomery)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There were four teams assigned to each pool. The top two teams made the gold playoffs. The third and fourth place teams played in the silver. Below a summary of the gold playoffs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["438049"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65198d68c11a6"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Semi-Finals</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the first semi-final game it was too much of the Djordjevic serve that took down Clarksburg early. Richard Montgomery swept Clarksburg 25-11, 25-10. In the opener younger sister <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='438049' first='Ana' last='Djordjevic']</strong> served 14 straight points with four aces and two coach timeouts to move a 5-5 game to 19-5. Before and after the service run the teams scored an equal number of points. Older sister <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='235748' first='Ema' last='Djordjevic']</strong> served eight straight points and 4 aces to transform a 7-4 second set to 15-4. Clarksburg had lost any momentum to play after that. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The game between Holy Cross and Dominion was more competitive. Dominion had the lead for most of the first game, but it became too much of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='180288' first='Emerson' last='Sellman']</strong> that took them down. With Holy Cross down 16-20 Sellman banged out six kills, two blocks and an ace serve to end the game 25-23. At 24-23 hesitation by Dominion let a set hit the floor without being touched to end the game 25-23. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='346738' first='Alena' last='Smith']</strong> tallied five kills and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='240027' first='Kaitlyn' last='Demitz']</strong> banged out four to keep the Titans close. In the second game the Tartans were in control all the way, winning 25-18. At one point the score was 8-8 but a <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='438091' first='Catherine' last='McIntyre']</strong> kill pushed the Tartans up for good at 9-8 </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Finals</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The two number one seeds battled it out in the end. Richard Montgomery brought a good back row with [player_tooltip player_id='438049' first='Ana' last='Djordjevic'] and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='352786' first='Cassandra' last='Bradley']</strong>. Bradley stood her ground on at least four Sellman attempted kills. Their ability to defend created some long rallies. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Rockets got behind early in the first set after a big block from<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='235324' first='Rowan' last='Johnson']</strong> gave the Tartans a 4-3 lead. The Rockets could not come back after that, always looking at a deficit of at least two points. The game ended 25-21 when the Rockets hit the ball in the net.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Game two was more of the same. The Rockets tied the score 10-10 when [player_tooltip player_id='309030' first='Corinne' last='Howard'] blocked a back row attack from Sellman. The Tartans got the serve back and a Sellman kill advanced the score to 12-10. The Rockets could not get the lead after that. The game ended 25-17 on a kill by frosh <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='438091' first='Catherine' last='McIntyre']</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Chesapeake Chirps</strong>: In a Saturday tournament at Langley Madison upset the Saxons in five....Big games for next week starting Monday are Bishop O'Connell playing Virginia Academy and Midlothian at Hanover. On Tuesday Riverbend will play at Colonial Forge. Skipping to Thursday First Colonial plays at Kellam while Briar Woods gets another shot at Riverside, </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->