WCAC, ISL And VHSL Playoff Alphabet Soup
Lots of different playoffs in the Virginia area. An alphabet soup of names. Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) Emerson Sellman VA #1 OH #1 HEIGHT 6'4" POS OH CLASS 2024 View Profile Emerson Sellman State: Virginia School: Academy of Holy…
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SubscribeLots of different playoffs in the Virginia area. An alphabet soup of names.
Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC)
For the third straight year the finals of the WCAC will see Bishop O’Connell battle against Holy Cross. The Knights have won the last two championships but Holy Cross was victorious during league play. Holy Cross had their own championship run from 2012 to 2017. The game will be played Sunday at 6 PM at Catholic University.
Bishop O’Connell was able to sweep past St. Johns to get to the finals 25-16, 25-15 and 25-15. The Knights were led by the 11 kills from Jocelyn Pye and the five blocks from Teodora Stamenkovic.
Holy Cross also swept past Bishop McNamara 25-10, 25-20 and 25-19. Holy Cross is led by Emerson Sellman, who recently returned from Europe after winning a gold medal playing for the U.S. national team.
This should be an interesting match with a number of committed Division I players or future Division I players competing. Holy Cross now is the number one team in the DMV region while Bishop O’Connell is one of the top five.
Independent School League (ISL)
Flint Hill has not lost a set in the ISL since 2011. That trend continued as they swept past Georgetown Day 25-17, 25-19 and 25-22. The Mighty Hoppers held a 20-18 lead in the third set threatening to put an end to that streak, but the Huskies battled back to win. Ryla Jones led the Huskies with 13 kills while Isabelle Bardin contributed 10. The two frosh Hunter Ross and Alli Z Robinson contributed three blocks each.
The Hoppers had to get past Bullis to get to the finals. Earlier in the season Bullis had beaten Georgetown Day.
VHSL (Virginia High School League)
The Regional playoffs are winding down to determine which teams will qualify for the State playoffs. Normally, the top two teams from each Regional bracket will advance.
West Springfield struggled against Falls Church falling behind two games to one. They won the last two sets 25-12 and 15-6 to advance. They will play Alexandria City in the Region 6 C playoffs. The Spartans won game four despite receiving a red card during the set. A very enthusiastic crowd at the game.
For West Springfield Evelyn Jurden was the big hitter. The Spartans also got some offense from two of their smaller middles, junior Lela Swisher and senior Cailynn Hughes. Sophomore Nina Schweigert did a good job hitting from the other left side. Frosh Anna Dierks did a stellar job setting a 5/1. Only one of those five names mentioned is a senior so the future looks bright for the Spartans.
Falls Church impressed with junior Eliana Tamayo setting a 5/1, despite standing just 5’6″. Senior middle Simone Pendleton led the team in kills with 13. Junior libero Adele Riedel scrambled in the back row and dug some hard driven spikes hit by Jurden. It does appear that Isabella Pelini was brought up from the junior varsity and contributed three redirect blocks. Senior Charlotte Nguyen was second on the team in kills with 12.
In other 6C action Woodson swept past Fairfax with Maura Fay contributing 16 kills and Emma Gardner 13. Alexandria City swept past Lake Braddock.
One of the biggest surprises was to see Langley sweep past Chantilly to qualify for States in Class 6D. They will play James Madison in the finals, who got past George Marshall in four. Langley’s only two losses have come against Madison.
Class 6B also saw a surprise with Battlefield disposing of Colgan in three. Colgan has appeared in the finals in the last two years, winning in 2021 and finishing second in 2022. Battlefield comes at you with Cedar Run player of the year Brianna Clay at the middle and the pins Taelin Connolley, Skyler Tennant and Grace Bianchi. They will be playing Colonial Forge, who defeated Forest Park in four. Colonial Forge has Commonwealth player of the year Isabel Ostvig at setter.
Class 6A saw Deep Run and Cosby advance to the finals. It took Cosby five games to take down Glen Allen.
Class 5D had the most anticipated action with two of the better teams advancing to States. Riverbend eliminated Briar Woods in four while Riverside remained undefeated with their sweep over Massaponax. Briar Woods battled Riverbend losing the first and last sets by just two points (27-25 and 25-23).
In class 5C defending champion Midlothian qualified for states with their sweep over Godwin. They will play Patrick Henry in the finals, who downed Franklin County in four.
Class 5B saw both Woodside and Menchville advance by winning in four.
Class 5A had First Colonial sweep past Hickory. They will play Kellam, who eliminated Great Bridge in four. Avery Hanly led Kellam with 17 kills with Audriana Neil at 14 and Blakely Barnes at 12. Blakely also contributed nine blocks.
In Class 4D action James Wood swept past Millbrook. In the previous match setter Hannah McCullough dished out assist number 1,000. The 5’5″ Brenna Corbin managed three blocks, one of them a solo. Blacksburg swept past Jefferson Forest, with the first and last set won by two points (30-28 and 28-26).
Class 4C found Rock Ridge sweep past Loudoun County to win the Region. Both teams will advance to State.
In a Class 3 matchup Hidden Valley swept past Tunstall while Christianburg got past Lord Botebourt in four. The last time these two teams played it was for the District championship. Hidden Valley won in three, but the scores were 30-28, 26-24 and 29-27. That will be a fun match to watch.
VISAA (Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association)
Down in Richmond St. Catherines won their tournament over Collegiate with a convincing sweep. Taylor Meredith led the Saints with 12 kills and four blocks. Collegiate had beaten St. Catherines the last two matches they played during the regular season. These two teams, along with Flint Hill and Bishop O’Connell will be favorites to win the States for private school championship.
