Line for the Undefeated Gets Smaller

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A couple undefeated teams took their first loss this week. Below are quick summaries of matches played this past week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In a previous post we wrote about <strong>Howard</strong> defeating <strong>Glenelg</strong>. A couple days earlier <strong>River Hill</strong> (6-3) upset <strong>Glenelg</strong> (14-2) to give them their first loss of the season. The match went five. The Gladiators were able to squeeze out 27-25 wins in the first and fourth set. Unfortunately, they fell apart in the second and third sets 25-14 and 25-12, finally losing the fifth set 15-12. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='346816' first='Avery' last='Hubbard']</strong> finished with 15 kills in the loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another big upset saw <strong>Sherando</strong> (12-4) win in five over<strong> Kettle Run </strong>(14-1). Last year Kettle Run fought their way into the Class 3 State playoffs, only to lose to <strong>Grafton </strong>in the first round. This year they hope to advance farther into the state championship race. Until yesterday I had not seen any of the Kettle Run players in action. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='705537' first='Maddie' last='Stubblefield']</strong> showed up at a clinic I was working at. She showed some impressive libero skills. No game action but her passes on serve receive were crisp and she moved well on defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Massaponax</strong> (16-4) won in four over <strong>Courtland </strong>(13-2) to give the Cougars their second loss The two teams have a rematch for Monday at Courtland.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fort Defiance</strong> (16-1) swept past <strong>Rockbridge</strong> (5-8). <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='720606' first='Maecy' last='Frizzelle']</strong> was on fire with 22 kills and 11 digs for the Indians.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Colgan</strong> (16-2) keeps on rolling in what appeared to be a rebuilding year. They won in four over <strong>Gainesville</strong> (13-5). Three of the four matches were decided by two points. Gainesville won the first set 27-25 while Colgan won the second and fourth sets 25-23 and 26-24. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Richard Montgomery </strong>(13-1) swept past both <strong>Blair</strong> (11-3) and <strong>Damascus </strong>(6-4). <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='412056' first='Elizabeth' last='Mitchell'] </strong>finished with nine kills against Blair, one of them the 200th of her career. Later in the week she completed four aces against Damascus, with one of them the 100th of her career.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Patriot </strong>(14-8) took down <strong>Battlefield</strong> (13-5) in five. This puts them in first place at 7-1 in the Cedar Run Region while Battlefield drops to second place at 8-2, tied with Gainesville in a three team race.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>South Carroll</strong> (10-0-1) remained undefeated but it took them five sets to defeat <strong>Manchester Valley</strong> (6-4). They lost the fourth set 26-24 but took the fifth set 15-13. [player_tooltip player_id='321678' first='Elaina' last='Murphy'] led the way with 14 kills. The 5'5" left side also contributed two blocks, one of them a solo block.<strong> Pia White </strong>received credit for 32 assists and 12 digs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Chantilly (</strong>13-2-1) swept past <strong>South Lakes (</strong>5-6). In the three set match <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='455102' first='Erin' last='Green'] </strong>received 31 sets, finishing with 12 kills. Sounds like the Chargers were attempting to achieve a kill milestone for the sophomore.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bullis </strong>(16-1) swept past <strong>Madison</strong> (11-2-2). The Bulldogs <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181300' first='Alexis' last='Ewing']</strong> turned in 15 kills while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='183589' first='Angelique' last='Desamours']</strong> contributed 11. <strong>player_tooltip player_id='206729' first='Megan' last='Phan'] </strong>received credit for 42 assists. The Warhawks <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='265167' first='Laila' last='Chadwick']</strong> found the floor 13 times.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["204152"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-670bf741ed457"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The Cavaliers knew they were going to lose <strong>Maura Fay</strong> and <strong>Nora Gilmer</strong> to graduation. Last year Maura led her team in kills, while Nora shared the setting responsibilities with Sofie, normally being the front row player in their tandem. Losing their other outside <strong>Emma Gardner</strong> was not expected. She moved to Oklahoma. That left <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='204152' first='Sofie' last='Ferrell']</strong> as one of the veterans on the team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Considering the losses to still find themselves at 8-8 on the season has to be gratifying. It also gives Sofie more opportunity to show off her offensive chops. She finds herself fourth on the team in kills, while also sitting on top in assists and service aces. Add in the fact that she sits second in digs shows the increased contributions she is making to the team. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Woodson</strong> (8-8) beat <strong>West Potomac</strong> (7-9) in four. <strong> [player_tooltip player_id='204152' first='Sofie' last='Ferrell']</strong> came one service ace shy of a triple double. She finished with 9 aces, 13 digs and 13 assists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>North Hagerstown </strong>(12-2) swept past <strong>Urbana </strong>(8-2) in three. The Hubs have been doing well despite <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='249341' first='Baylee' last='Doolan']</strong> being out the year with a knee injury. Their only two losses came against <strong>Howard </strong>and <strong>James Wood</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Norfolk Academy </strong>(15-3) won in five against <strong>Collegiate </strong>(12-7). The Bulldogs won the last two sets 25-22 and 16-14 to escape with the victory. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='245600' first='Peyton' last='McGee']</strong> finished with 18 kills and 16 assists. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='557876' first='Kinsley' last='Flores']</strong> put up four blocks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kellam</strong>10-7) pulled off a mild upset over <strong>First Colonial </strong>(13-4), not allowing them to reach 20 points in the sweep. <strong> [player_tooltip player_id='484970' first='Sofia' last='Barnes']</strong> (14) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='484751' first='Riley' last='Erwin']</strong> (15) combined for 29 kills. Riley also contributed 21 assists. These two teams played to open the season and First Colonial won in five. Kellam jumps ahead in the standings for the Beach Region rising to third at 9-2. First Colonial drops to 4th at 8-3. <strong>Cox </strong>(10-1) and <strong>Ocean Lakes</strong> (9-1) own the first two spots.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>North Stafford</strong> (17-3) remained undefeated in the Commonwealth Region with their four set win over <strong>Massaponax</strong> (16-6). North Stafford sits at 11-0 in the Region while Colonial Forge (8-2) and Massaponax (7-4) take second and third.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Godwin</strong> (6-9) pulled off an upset with a five set win over <strong>Deep Run</strong> (13-3). That gave the Wildcats their first regional loss putting them at 6-1. This ties them with <strong>Glen Allen</strong> in the Colonial Region.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Atlee (</strong>14-2) battled for five sets before defeating <strong>Hanove</strong>r (13-3). Atlee remains undefeated in the Capital Region at 7-0 while Hanover drops to second at 7-2. Both regional losses for Hanover have come against Atlee, both going five sets. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->