Playoff Season Begins - Class 6 Preview

For the Virginia public schools, the regular season has come to a close. Time to take a look at some of the regional winners that have a chance to advance to the state playoffs. I will have to admit, the whole playoff process is a bit confusing and the VHSL site does not seem to break it out well. But I will grind through the process.   Concorde Region   Madison swept past Oakton to create a three way tie for first in the Concorde Region. Madison jumped out to an early 13-3 lead in set one on the serving of [player_tooltip player_id='230817' first='Riley' last='Lynch'] (3 aces and one kill prior to her serves). Oakton battled back getting four aces from [player_tooltip player_id='238857' first='Julie' last='Xu'] to get to within five (11-16). A [player_tooltip player_id='209792' first='Jocelyn' last='Shortle'] tip pulled Oakton to within one (23-24). [player_tooltip player_id='181314' first='Aubrey' last='Loughlin'] ended any hope of a comeback win with a block to finish the first set 25-23.   Game two saw Oakton pull up front 11-6 after a Shortle tool off the block followed by three ace serves. Another Shortle kill and a [player_tooltip player_id='209789' first='Seliz' last='Aktuglu'] ace pushed the lead to 17-11. A [player_tooltip player_id='265167' first='Laila' last='Chadwick'] kill gave Madison the ball back and the combo of right side [player_tooltip player_id='230817' first='Riley' last='Lynch'] and middle [player_tooltip player_id='183606' first='Camille' last='Pomeroy'] proved too much. A Pomeroy kill put the Warhawks up 19-18 and they never looked back after that. [player_tooltip player_id='209800' first='Sydney' last='Pham'] served an ace to end the game 25-22.   Set three proved to be too much [player_tooltip player_id='183606' first='Camille' last='Pomeroy']. She finished with eight kills in the last set, including the final kill on an overpass to give Madison a 25-18 set three win.   Madison, Chantilly and Oakton each have one more match to play to finish the season. If they each win their match they will be deadlocked at 8-2. Those three will fight it out. South Lakes sits in fourth, but they are 0-5 against the three first place teams.    Chantilly has perhaps the best hitter in the Region in [player_tooltip player_id='181297' first='Lameen' last='Mambu']. The question remains - will that prove enough? Setters [player_tooltip player_id='292644' first='Caycee' last='Chhum'] and [player_tooltip player_id='240899' first='Sarah' last='Kim'] can get her the ball and libero [player_tooltip player_id='181284' first='Nola' last='Murphy'] keeps the passing on point. If that goes well the team marches on. While they rely on Mambu for their offense, [player_tooltip player_id='469183' first='Frida' last='Sagastume'] can also get the job done from the right side. She ranks second on the team in kills.    Madison brings more depth to their offense. With [player_tooltip player_id='230817' first='Riley' last='Lynch'] moving to one of the right sides and pairing up with either middle [player_tooltip player_id='181314' first='Aubrey' last='Loughlin'] or [player_tooltip player_id='183606' first='Camille' last='Pomeroy'], it creates a number of setting options. It also improves the blocking and creates openings for frosh [player_tooltip player_id='265167' first='Laila' last='Chadwick'] from the left side. Libero [player_tooltip player_id='209800' first='Sydney' last='Pham'] passes nails and plays a hustling defense. Another right side that can put the ball down is frosh [player_tooltip player_id='359401' first='Chloe' last='Barth']. Putting Lynch right side in the match against Oakton gave Madison some length with the block.    Oakton relies on their two 5'9" outside hitters [player_tooltip player_id='209792' first='Jocelyn' last='Shortle'] and [player_tooltip player_id='209789' first='Seliz' last='Aktuglu']. Last night the two had some trouble hitting it past the length of the blocks put up by Lynch, Loughlin and Pomeroy. [player_tooltip player_id='235291' first='Sadee' last='Gedse'] may be one of the top liberos in the area. Love her enthusiasm when she plays. They have two younger players in frosh [player_tooltip player_id='465321' first='Marissa' last='Turek'] and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='238857' first='Julie' last='Xu'] who can fill right side roles for this year but could be the Cougars left sides in the future.   My pick to survive this Region - Madison, but just like the regular season anything can happen.   Cardinal Region   The State champions for 2021 and the runners up for 2022 finished atop the Cardinal Division despite losing some significant players to graduation. They went undefeated in regional play with the 6'0" [player_tooltip player_id='209790' first='Aubrey' last='Hatch'] hitting left side and leading her team in kills and second in aces and digs. A solid all around player who seems to contribute to wins no matter who surrounds her on the court. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='238593' first='Tehillah' last='Garrison'] saw her role increase taking over as the second left side. She stands second on the team in kills and her jump spin serve leads the team in aces.    [player_tooltip player_id='207594' first='Paula' last='Sigurani'] fills the libero role, keeping the back row defense on track. Instead of the 5/1 the team ran the last two years the Sharks have switched gears, giving senior [player_tooltip player_id='469179' first='Maddison' last='Bowman'] and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='464563' first='Elizabeth' last='Robinson'] the setting duties running a 6/2. Maddison also chalks up some aces with her serves, third on the team in that category. [player_tooltip player_id='333653' first='Elizabeth' last='York'] and [player_tooltip player_id='388777' first='Jordan' last='Miller'] are filling the middle position after the Sharks saw the departure of their two starters. [player_tooltip player_id='223582' first='Skylar' last='Johnson'] continues to shine on the right side.   Despite having to fill five new starter roles with both middles and setters and a new left side, the Sharks success continues.    Forest Park finished the bridesmaid again. Not too shabby considering they also saw a significant group of starters leave via graduation. The two returnees who did most of the damage this year were junior [player_tooltip player_id='235293' first='Destini' last='Pickett'] from the left side and senior [player_tooltip player_id='181237' first='Zoe' last='Strachan'] from the right side. Destini led the team in kills and aces while Zoe finished second in kills and blocks.   A trio of seniors contributed to the Bruins continued success. Setter Rachel Graham ran the offense, while middles Skylar Canupp and Janelle Makuwa plugged up the middles. Skylar led the team in blocks while Janelle topped the team in hitting percentage. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='535062' first='Alysia' last=''] Diaz filled the libero role.   Woodbridge finished third but all four of their losses in the Region went to Colgan and Forest Park. Frosh [player_tooltip player_id='469190' first='Jayne' last='Clark'] contributed to the team in kills and filled six rotations. Time to put her on the player to watch spotlight. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='248632' first='Kylie' last='Barbier'] led the team in kills and shared the senior leadership role with libero Clara Freeman.   My pick to survive this region - Colgan.   Patriot Region    Woodson replaced defending state champion Alexandria City atop the Patriot Region. They accomplished that with two outsides who dominated play at the net. The 6'1" senior [player_tooltip player_id='233000' first='Maura' last='Fay'] led the team in kills while the 6'3" sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='210539' first='Emma' last='Gardner'] was right behind her. That duo was difficult to stop with combined hitting percentages above .300. Another sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='204152' first='Sofie' last='Ferrell'] set from the back row while the 6'0" [player_tooltip player_id='469251' first='Nora' last='Gilmer'] set while playing the front row. The fact that Nora raniked third on the team in blocks and kills means the setting rotation is always fluid.   On the defensive end, [player_tooltip player_id='233014' first='Stella' last='Gilligan'] took over the libero role after the injury to [player_tooltip player_id='338991' first='Eve' last='McLaury']. This allowed [player_tooltip player_id='238862' first='Livia' last='Lee'] an opportunity for increased back row play as a defensive specialist. Livia led the team in aces and was third in digs. The defense and passing still remain strong as they enter the playoff chase with Gilligan and Lee.   Alexandria City lost two superstars in Gatorade Player of the Year Milan Rex and 5/1 setter Chloe Wilmot. They also lost eight of their first 10 matches to start the season. Once Regional play began the Titans started to jell as the youngsters gained more experience. They finished 11-3 in Regional play with their only losses coming against Woodson (twice) and West Potomac. Their matches against Woodson came earlier in the season when the team was still struggling.   The 6'1" newcomer [player_tooltip player_id='464589' first='Julia' last='Kelly'] provided a spark, sharing the left side duties with returnee [player_tooltip player_id='233012' first='Bridie' last='Wendling']. It took some time, but setter [player_tooltip player_id='374419' first='Alicia' last='Randall'] began getting comfortable running the offense and the wins began coming in bunches. The Titans also lost their libero but [player_tooltip player_id='235297' first='Casey' last='Donahue'] has filled the spot admirably. They could be trouble once the playoffs start.   I saw a little bit of third place West Potomac at the Titan clash. Caroline Christensen leads the team setting a 5/1. Her primary target appears to be 6'1" middle [player_tooltip player_id='235290' first='Olivia' last='Hatcher']. A frosh that gives the team length from the right side and hits the ball hard is [player_tooltip player_id='469197' first='Olivia' last='Garey']. She can also play middle. [player_tooltip player_id='469201' first='Ava' last='Dushaw'] provides them some offense on the left side.   My pick to survive this region - Woodson. Alexandria City has improved their play from when they were swept twice by Woodson earlier this season. Winning three sets would be quite an accomplishment no matter how great the improvement over the season.   Not a lot of competitive Class 6 teams left in the Southern Region of Virginia. Max Preps list Colonial Forge as a Class 6 but I was told they are now Class 5. They finished second in the Commonwealth Region to Riverbend. We will talk about Colonial Forge when we discuss Class 5.   Ocean Lakes may be the one Class 6 remaining that is competitive in volleyball. They finished fourth in the Beach Region. While I have not seen them play I have watched some of their club players. They have lots of pin hitters with [player_tooltip player_id='413081' first='Gabrielle' last='Carr'], [player_tooltip player_id='434857' first='Tessa' last='Kurz'], [player_tooltip player_id='434858' first='Nora' last='Costello'] and [player_tooltip player_id='333654' first='Santina' last='Martcheva'].   Chesapeake Chirps: [player_tooltip player_id='196556' first='Caleigh' last='Ponn'] reached 1,500 kills for Hidden Valley almost at the same time as [player_tooltip player_id='235285' first='Calli' last='Anderson'] reached 1,500 assists. Calli did not set for Hidden Valley as a frosh when Caleigh accumulated 370 kills...Wootton picked up a big upset over Urbana, winning in five. The scores of 14-25, 25-12, 24-26, 25-23, 24-22 will tell you how evenly matched the two teams were...,Riverbend won a five set match against Colonial Forge in their last match of the season,

For the Virginia public schools, the regular season has come to a close. Time to take a look at some of the regional winners that have a chance to advance to the state playoffs. I will have to admit, the whole playoff process is a bit confusing and the VHSL site does not seem to break it out well. But I will grind through the process.