Virginia Regional Semi-Final Playoff Review

Many semifinals will be played tonight. Time to take a look at a few of the matches for some interesting pairings. We will go as far down as Region 4. Region 3 we'll try to get to in a separate piece.   Region 6    In Class D Chantilly has a rematch versus Langley. Last year the two played in the finals with Chantilly winning in five. For the most part the same cast of characters will take the court in the rematch. For Chantilly, [player_tooltip player_id='181297' first='Lameen' last='Mambu'] leads this offense. Langley will come at you with a variety of weapons, including [player_tooltip player_id='181298' first='Ana' last='Toumazatos'], [player_tooltip player_id='181307' first='Leni' last='Stanton-Parker'], [player_tooltip player_id='180284' first='Chloe' last='Hokenson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='180292' first='Riley' last='Buddie']. Too bad only one can advance.   Madison takes on George Marshall. The Statesmen earned a spot in the semi-final by defeating Oakton in five. The two have played each other once this season with Madison winning in four. When the Warhawks use [player_tooltip player_id='230817' first='Riley' last='Lynch'] on the right side with [player_tooltip player_id='183606' first='Camille' last='Pomeroy'] and [player_tooltip player_id='181314' first='Aubrey' last='Loughlin'] in the middle they put up a formidable block. Frosh [player_tooltip player_id='265167' first='Laila' last='Chadwick'] is a dangerous weapon on the outside. Marshall relies on [player_tooltip player_id='181234' first='Samia' last='Sayd'] and younger sister frosh [player_tooltip player_id='438068' first='Ayla' last='Sayd'] for their points.   If Madison and Langley both win it will be an interesting matchup. Madison has beaten Langley twice this season, the only blemishes on the Saxons record. Also, Madison last won a state championship in 2015, when they beat Langley in five. Langley last won in 2017, Chantilly in 2018. George Marshall will be looking for their first State championship.   In Class C there are eight teams left. It will be a surprise if any of them can take down Woodson, who has the combination of [player_tooltip player_id='233000' first='Maura' last='Fay'] and [player_tooltip player_id='210539' first='Emma' last='Gardner'] to generate their offense. The Cavaliers made their first State playoff appearance in 2019 and lost in the finals to Kellam in four sets. Woodson plays Fairfax who they swept during the regular season. Their record in sets against the teams in their Class C Region is 30-3.    Teams that could challenge them are West Springfield, who has the Patriot District player of the year in [player_tooltip player_id='181243' first='Evelyn' last='Jurden']. She can dominate a game as she did against Edison last night. Her jump spin serve produced at least ten aces and every time she touched a set it resulted in a kill. Woodson has already played West Springfield twice and beat them in four sets both times.   Lake Braddock has [player_tooltip player_id='227251' first='Morgan' last='D. Williams'] to hit outside. She is the top ranked prospect in the class of 2026. Alexandria City has already beaten Lake Braddock twice in four sets.   Class B will see 2021 champions and 2022 finalist Colgan going against Battlefield. Left side [player_tooltip player_id='209790' first='Aubrey' last='Hatch'] and libero [player_tooltip player_id='207594' first='Paula' last='Sigurani'] are the two main contributors from those teams. Aubrey won player of the year in the Cardinal District. Battlefield made their lone State appearance in 2019. They are led by Cedar Run player of the year middle [player_tooltip player_id='182776' first='Brianna' last='Clay']. Colgan beat them in four earlier this year.   The other matchup will see Colonial Forge go up against Forest Park. Forest Park won their lone State championship in 2003. Colonial Forge has yet to win a state championship. Last year the two squared off in the quarterfinals of the Region and Forest Park beat them in five. [player_tooltip player_id='235293' first='Destini' last='Pickett'] leads the Forest Park offense while Commonwealth player of the year and setter [player_tooltip player_id='182753' first='Isabel' last='Ostvig'] sets the stage for Colonial.   Class A sees Deep Run go against Grassfield and Glen Allen play Cosby. Last year Grassfield appeared in the state championship but lost in the first round to Colgan. Glen Allen, Grassfield and Cosby have yet to win a championship. Deep Run won back to back championships in 2006 and 2007. They have not returned to the final four in States since 2010. The Wildcats have beaten Glen Allen twice and Cosby once this season and should be the favorite to win this class.   Class 5    Class D will be the most interesting to watch in Region 5. Riverbend has only lost one match and are led by the 6'3" middle [player_tooltip player_id='309022' first='Peri' last='Linterman']. Briar Woods has only lost thrice, two of those matches against Riverside. They are led by right side [player_tooltip player_id='237667' first='Skyler' last='Riggio']. Briar Woods won a state championship in 2014 while Riverbend is looking for their first.   The other matchup has Massaponax, led by [player_tooltip player_id='233560' first='Carley' last='P Coghill'], playing against the undefeated Riverside, who have an array of weapons. [player_tooltip player_id='192587' first='Adriana' last='Perodin'] and [player_tooltip player_id='225187' first='Simone' last='Schaefer'] do the damage from the outside while [player_tooltip player_id='181309' first='Brianna' last='Holladay'] works the middle. Last year Massaponax won this region, beating Riverside in five in the finals. Briar Woods lost to Massaponax in the semi-finals while Riverbend got swept by Riverside in the quarterfinals. All four will now face each in the semifinals. Both Massaponax and Riverside made an appearance in the states last year, Riverside losing in the first round to eventual champion Midlothian and Massaponax losing in the semifinals to Midlothian. Neither has a championship banner hanging from the wall.   In Class C action Midlothian plays against Godwin to defend their championship. Midlothian is led by [player_tooltip player_id='190541' first='Hannah' last='Ball']. Last year was the first appearance for Midlothian in a state championship bracket. Godwin was dominate in volleyball as Mills Godwin appearing in a number of State brackets, the last appearance being 2015. They won state championships in AAA in 1997 and 1995.   Franklin County plays Patrick Henry (Roanoke) in the other match. The last appearance for Franklin County in the States final four was in 2003. Patrick Henry (Roanoke) saw their star rise in 2011 and 2012 when they appeared in back to back final fours. In 1995 they lost in the finals to Mills Godwin.   Class B has Woodside playing Granby and Menchville battling Maury. Last year Maury beat Menchville to win the Class 5B Regional. Both Menchville and Maury advanced to the State bracket but both got swept in the first round.   Class A will see First Colonial play Hickory and Great Bridge play Kellam. First Colonial got to the finals before losing to Cox last year. First Colonial last won a State championship in 2014 and appeared in the finals in 2013, before losing to Langley. They played in Class 6 at that time. Kellam appeared in the finals in 2020 before losing to TC Williams (now Alexandria City). They won in 2016 and completed a three peat from 2010 to 2012. They have [player_tooltip player_id='246935' first='Avery' last='Hanly'] to provide the offense and [player_tooltip player_id='242358' first='Megan' last='Stone'] to take care of the back row. Hickory won a Class 5 state championship in 2020.   Class 4    Class D sees two division rivals do battle against each other, James Woods and Millbrook. James Wood is the defending champion with their top player being [player_tooltip player_id='181302' first='Kennedy' last='Spaid']. Millbrook appeared in final fours in both 2021 and 2017 and are led by [player_tooltip player_id='243771' first='Berkeley' last='Konrady']. James Wood downed Millbrook both times they played them this year.   Jefferson Forest also plays Blacksburg. Jefferson Forest was dominate in the 1990s winning their lone championship in 1997 but appearing in the final four on five other occasions. Blacksburg has yet to win a championship, but they have been to the finals twice, once in 2016, losing to Hidden Valley and again in 1991 losing to John S. Battle.   Class C sees a championship match between Rock Ridge and Loudoun County. Loudoun County did not appear in States last year after winning 10 consecutive championships from 2013 to 2021. Rock Ridge has yet to win a championship. The two played earlier this season, with Rock Ridge winning in five.   Class B has Atlee going against Courtland and Hanover battling Monacan. Last year Atlee lost in the final to King George after beating Hanover. Monacan lost in the first round. Atlee won a state championship in 2013 in Class 5. Courtland and Monacan have not won a state championship while Hanover appeared in a final in 2006 and lost to Deep Run.   Class A sees Jamestown play Manor and Gloucester play Smithfield. Jamestown finished second to Loudoun County three times from 2013 to 2016. They have three other second place finishes but no championships. The other three lack any final four appearances in state brackets.

Many semifinals will be played tonight. Time to take a look at a few of the matches for some interesting pairings. We will go as far down as Region 4. Region 3 we'll try to get to in a separate piece.