Battle of Bethesda Won by Holy Cross
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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…
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Continue ReadingThe 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.
Battle of Bethesda All Tournament Team
MVP – Emerson Sellman Emerson Sellman 6'4" | OH Academy of Holy Cross | 2024 State #5 Nation VA
Setters – Ema Djordjevic Ema Djordjevic 6'0" | OH Richard Montgomery | 2025 State VA (Richard Montgomery), Jaylyn Simon Jaylyn Simon 5'9" | S Holy Cross | 2024 State VA (Holy Cross) and Ingrid Smith Ingrid Smith 5'8" | S Dominion | 2027 State VA (Dominion)
Outsides – Elizabeth Mitchell Elizabeth Mitchell 5'9" | OH Richard Montgomery | 2026 State VA (Richard Montgomery), Emerson Sellman Emerson Sellman 6'4" | OH Academy of Holy Cross | 2024 State #5 Nation VA (Holy Cross), Alena Smith Alena Smith 5'8" | OH Dominion | 2025 State VA (Dominion)
Middles – Rowan Johnson Rowan Johnson 6'1" | MB Holy Cross (MD) | 2025 State MD (Holy Cross), Ariel Mazor Ariel Mazor MB Walter Johnson | 2025 State VA (Walter Johnson), Caroline Kaye Caroline Kaye 6'1" | MB Richard Montgomery | 2025 State VA (Richard Montgomery)
Right Side – Kaitlyn Demitz Kaitlyn Demitz 5'11" | RS Dominion | 2025 State VA (Dominion)
Libero/Defensive specialists – Cassandra Bradley Cassandra Bradley 5'6" | DS/L Richard Montgomery | 2024 State VA (Richard Montgomery), Ella Nam (Clarksburg)
Perhaps other teams had greater talent, but no team but the Tartans of Holy Cross had Emerson Sellman Emerson Sellman 6'4" | OH Academy of Holy Cross | 2024 State #5 Nation VA . 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.
Never saw Ema Djordjevic Ema Djordjevic 6'0" | OH Richard Montgomery | 2025 State VA 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.
Ingrid Smith Ingrid Smith 5'8" | S Dominion | 2027 State VA 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.
Cassandra Bradley Cassandra Bradley 5'6" | DS/L Richard Montgomery | 2024 State VA ranks in the class of 2024 and has yet to commit. If any college seeks a libero that dug Emerson Sellman Emerson Sellman 6'4" | OH Academy of Holy Cross | 2024 State #5 Nation VA 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.
There were also a number of talented frosh playing in the tournament. Below is my all frosh team:
Highlights
Battle of Bethesda All Frosh Team
Setters – Ingrid Smith Ingrid Smith 5'8" | S Dominion | 2027 State VA (Dominion), Vivian Ngan Vivian Ngan 5'3" | S Clarksburg | 2027 State VA (Clarksburg)
Outsides – Lucille Deraleau Lucille Deraleau 5'7" | RS Churchill | 2027 State VA (Churchill), Saesha Dhote (Richard Montgomery), Michaela Anderson Michaela Anderson RS Walter Johnson | 2027 State VA (Walter Johnson). Catherine McIntyre Catherine McIntyre 5'9" | OH Holy Cross | 2027 State VA (Holy Cross), Emilia Zhang Emilia Zhang OH Walter Johnson | 2027 State VA (Walter Johnson)
Middle – Siyena Fitsum Siyena Fitsum 6'3" | MB Churchill | 2027 State VA (Churchill), Katherine Giesecke (Walt Whitman)
Libero – Ana Djordjevic Ana Djordjevic 5'7" | DS/L Richard Montgomery | 2027 State MD (Richard Montgomery)
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.
Highlights
Semi-Finals
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 Ana Djordjevic Ana Djordjevic 5'7" | DS/L Richard Montgomery | 2027 State MD 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 Ema Djordjevic Ema Djordjevic 6'0" | OH Richard Montgomery | 2025 State VA 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.
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 Emerson Sellman Emerson Sellman 6'4" | OH Academy of Holy Cross | 2024 State #5 Nation VA 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. Alena Smith Alena Smith 5'8" | OH Dominion | 2025 State VA tallied five kills and Kaitlyn Demitz Kaitlyn Demitz 5'11" | RS Dominion | 2025 State VA 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 Catherine McIntyre Catherine McIntyre 5'9" | OH Holy Cross | 2027 State VA kill pushed the Tartans up for good at 9-8
Finals
The two number one seeds battled it out in the end. Richard Montgomery brought a good back row with Ana Djordjevic Ana Djordjevic 5'7" | DS/L Richard Montgomery | 2027 State MD and Cassandra Bradley Cassandra Bradley 5'6" | DS/L Richard Montgomery | 2024 State VA . Bradley stood her ground on at least four Sellman attempted kills. Their ability to defend created some long rallies.
The Rockets got behind early in the first set after a big block from Rowan Johnson Rowan Johnson 6'1" | MB Holy Cross (MD) | 2025 State MD 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.
Game two was more of the same. The Rockets tied the score 10-10 when Corinne Howard Corinne Howard 5'11" | MB Richard Montgomery | 2025 State VA 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 Catherine McIntyre Catherine McIntyre 5'9" | OH Holy Cross | 2027 State VA .
Chesapeake Chirps: 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,