Lions, Tartans, Chargers and Hawks Prevail

Below is a summary of four matches for this week. All were critical because they were conference matches. At the end of the week I will give the remaining results from the critical matches I did not attend.   Game of the Week - Howard Downs Glenelg   Because of traffic it took me two and a half hours to get to the match in Maryland. And I even left early with the expectation to get something to eat nearby the high school. By the time I arrived Howard had taken the first set 27-25. They were leading in the second set 19-14. I tried to get a slice of pizza at the snack bar to sooth an empty stomach but they had just sold their last slice. Fortunately, the match was fun to watch. Lots of talent on both teams.   Despite falling behind 19-14 Glenelg fought back to make it 20-19. Three consecutive out serves moved it forward to 22-20. Glenelg added another out serve to get the Lions within a point of winning at 24-22. Howard had a hitting error for 24-23. All these errors made me wonder why both these teams were recently ranked 3 and 4 in Region 2 by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) .<a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/usa-today-sports-avca-girls-volleyball-regional-rankings-week-6/ar-AA1s3t6T?ocid=wispr&pc=u477&cvid=288e87fac238419bf4b880e12185779e&ei=94">USA TODAY Sports/AVCA girls volleyball regional rankings: Week 6 (msn.com)</a> . Howard won the second set 25-23.   With the third set the talent let loose. [player_tooltip player_id='698761' first='Imagine' last='Peltier'] showed her skills as a setter. She dished out 39 assists, including two monstrous kills on quick tempo sets to the middle [player_tooltip player_id='402429' first='Kaleigh' last='Williams']. Kaleigh finished the match with 11 kills adding a few slides to the right side to shake things up. At about 5'10" Imagine brings height to the setter position. She had back to back dumps while playing the front row to tie the third set at 19-19. What stands out most is she ranks second on the team in blocks, adding three more to her total from this match.   However, the Gladiators got big blocks from middles Sierra O'Connor on an attempted three meter attack and another block by Ilyssa Newman on a quick tempo set. That put Glenelg just one point away from getting their first set win. A missed tip by Howard gave them the 25-22 win. For the 14-0 Lions it was only the fourth time in which they have lost a set.   The fourth set was not so close. [player_tooltip player_id='402429' first='Kaleigh' last='Williams'] contributed three more kills in addition to two blocks while left side [player_tooltip player_id='702631' first='McKenna' last='Brown'] put three balls to the floor and the Lions cruised to the 25-14 win. [player_tooltip player_id='698761' first='Imagine' last='Peltier'] served one ace to make it 23-14 and after a substitution served it right at the new player and got her second ace.    Love her spirit on the court. The coach trusts her as floor captain and she stands her ground. She plays libero/defensive specialist for her travel team but the Gladiators use her to hit left side.   She leads the team in kills and despite her small stature ranks third in blocks. Six of her blocks are solo blocks. She also ranks third in aces and third in digs. She may need to work a little more on her service accuracy. Since most of her service errors appear to go deep perhaps serving from area 1 to area 1 (across the court) might lesson some of those errors.    The two liberos, [player_tooltip player_id='374421' first='Miranda' last='Ball'] for Howard and [player_tooltip player_id='520372' first='Olivia' last='McDonough'] for Glenelg were all over the court. [player_tooltip player_id='346815' first='Isard' last='Bernades'] plays libero as well for club but for the Gladiators she plays left side. Despite her 5'9 height she knocked down 13 kills, many of them on tools off the block or tips finding the empty court. [player_tooltip player_id='529251' first='Jessica' last='Li'] distributed 132 sets, getting credit for 27 assists. The Glenelg pins were challenged by the big blocks the Lions brought to the net.   In addition to [player_tooltip player_id='402429' first='Kaleigh' last='Williams'], the Lions have the 6'2"middle [player_tooltip player_id='506629' first='Dylann' last='Loggins'] rejecting balls. She also hits the quick tempo sets well. Ironic that her setter for club last year played across the net from her. Dylann finished with seven kills and three blocks.   Hayfield Sweeps Past Thomas Jefferson    Last year Iris set for [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']. As a frosh standing only 5'6" the coach puts a lot of confidence in the setter to run the 5/1. Iris not only does her job with setting, but she leads the team in aces and ranks third in digs.   Last year Iris set her team to a bid in the USAV nationals. She still needs to work on many aspects of the game, especially the quickness of the varsity game where she plays with girls three years older than her.    This was a critical match for TJ. The Hayfield Hawks came into the match tied with Falls Church atop the National Conference at 8-1. TJ needed the win to not fall three back from the leaders. Unfortunately for the Colonials the Hawks brought too much power to the court.   With the strong play of left side [player_tooltip player_id='705676' first='Malia' last='Lei-Sam'] and the accurate setting from Isabella Floyd the Hawks won in three. The first two sets finished 25-22 but the Colonials found themselves down by three or more points throughout the set. Isabella ended the first set with a setter dump from the three meter line that TJ could not keep from hitting the floor. She finished with at least four kills on setter dumps. Lizzy Harmon ended the second set with a redirect block on an overpass. Solid libero play from Katelyn Harkleroad kept the Hawks in system. She provided precise passes to allow the Hawks to run their offense and scrambled well on defense to prevent the ball from hitting the floor.   [player_tooltip player_id='181310' first='Ava' last='Stewart'] contributed 11 kills in a losing cause. Despite playing middle she stayed in the back row when TJ served and came out for the libero when Hayfield served. The Colonials also got contributions from their two frosh. Setter [player_tooltip player_id='630678' first='Iris' last='Jin'] finished with 14 assists setting a 5/1. Left side Asli Ulku, who may be undersized for a front row player still played six rotations. While she finished with only one kill Asli picked up five digs, served up two aces and contributed to the serve receive mix.   Tartans sweep the Knight to Move in First in the WCAC    Olivia is not a player you would notice during hitting warmups. Bishop O'Connell brings some hard hitters to the court. Olivia plays a steady brand of volleyball. If you can't find the floor inside the lines it doesn't matter the velocity of the ball.   Against the Tartans all the Knight hitters hit at less than .105 except one. Olivia achieved seven kills in eight attempts. She still needs to work on her approach to the setter for quick tempo sets. In addition, reading the setter and anticipating the direction of the set will improve the timeliness of her blocks. As it stands she still leads the team in blocks.    Finishing first in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) is critical for seeding. By finishing first in conference play you host the finals, as well as avoid playing St. Johns in the semi-final.   The Knights had just been swept in their previous match against Flint Hill. The same issues that reared its ugly head against the Huskies also showed itself against the Spartans. Poor passing that consistently avoided crossing the three meter line forced most of the sets to go to the left sides. The Tartans were waiting with 6'1" [player_tooltip player_id='536721' first='Ana' last='Woods'] and 6'0" setter [player_tooltip player_id='238376' first='Anasofia' last='Zanellato'] with the right side block. Despite seven kills in eight attempts from middle [player_tooltip player_id='488812' first='Olivia' last='Boggs'], the Knights finished with a hitting percentage of .09   Even with the poor passing the outsides for the Knights seemed to be playing pepper with libero [player_tooltip player_id='472384' first='Kate' last='Bickel']. She seemed to have a magnet for their hits, popping everything up to the three meter line. [player_tooltip player_id='181304' first='Sarah' last='Jeremias'] accumulated aces with her serve. Once she achieved a shank she stayed on that passer no matter where she moved on the court. The two frosh, [player_tooltip player_id='536721' first='Ana' last='Woods'] from the right side and [player_tooltip player_id='622282' first='Emerson' last='Wolfe'] from the left side performed well, with Emerson leading the team in kills with 12.   The Tartans run a modified 5/1. [player_tooltip player_id='672039' first='Sibel' last='Ozan'] sets from the back row and [player_tooltip player_id='238376' first='Anasofia' last='Zanellato'] dishes it out from the front row. She contributed at least 5 kills with her dumps from the front row. [player_tooltip player_id='235324' first='Rowan' last='Johnson'] continues her excellent senior year for the Tartans, leading the team in kills, impressive for a middle. Her hitting percentage sits at a gaudy .404. She also leads the team in blocks. Rowan has committed to Akron University.   The only highlight for O'Connell were the seven kills in eight attempts by middle [player_tooltip player_id='488812' first='Olivia' last='Boggs']. She also contributed two blocks. There was also the junior varsity winning their match in three, giving the Tartans junior varsity their first loss of the season.   Chantilly Downs Westfield    Sometimes the contributions Erin provides to the team go unnoticed because everyone anticipates the [player_tooltip player_id='181297' first='Lameen' last='Mambu'] kill. However, Erin can hit the ball pretty hard as well. She mostly plays right side but can hit left as well. Erin ranks third on the team in kills.   Last year she played for [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']. In addition to playing at the Triple Crown she also competed at the Open Division at the Junior Nationals. Playing against the best will certainly enhance your game.   As a sophomore Erin has made high school ball look easy.    These two teams found themselves tied with one loss in the Concorde Region. Madison stands atop the standings at 6-0. The Chargers easily won the first set 25-14. [player_tooltip player_id='181297' first='Lameen' last='Mambu'] was the big arm with her 17 kills, but [player_tooltip player_id='455102' first='Erin' last='Green'] also stepped in with seven. [player_tooltip player_id='240899' first='Sarah' last='Kim'] got big scoring runs with her serve, something she would also do in the next two sets as well. Her final point total on serves finished at 22 points.   The second set turned into the big battle with a [player_tooltip player_id='483129' first='Louise' last='Z Atiz'] kill putting the Bulldogs ahead 24-21. A kill by Skyler Riley gave the Chargers the serve while still behind 22-24. With Gabby Roper serving two kills by [player_tooltip player_id='181297' first='Lameen' last='Mambu'] sandwiched between an ace by Roper earned the Chargers a 26-24 win.   The third set Chantilly cruised 25-16. Westfield gets a rematch against Chantilly for their last regular season match.   [player_tooltip player_id='483129' first='Louise' last='Z Atiz'] at 5'11" carries a nice left handed swing to the right side. She struggled with much of her time trying to spike the ball when it was behind her. That usually signals an early approach. [player_tooltip player_id='693840' first='Jasmine' last='Oduro'] plays an athletic middle who puts up a good block. The elevation on her jump carries her hands far above the net. Despite that elevation Jasmine still experienced some quick tempo issues with the setters. [player_tooltip player_id='701939' first='Josephine' last='Pairel'] is one of the setters with the height to hit front row on the right side. For the most part she shares setting duties with the smaller Lilian Park, who rotates out once she reaches the front row.   [player_tooltip player_id='377344' first='Julia' last='Horan'] plays a good middle for Chantilly. She got called once for slam dunking a set in the middle but leads the team in blocking. [player_tooltip player_id='245601' first='Gabrielle' last='Nelson'] shares the middle with Julia. She hits the quick sets well and sits behind Julia, second on the team in blocks. [player_tooltip player_id='181284' first='Nola' last='Murphy'] returns from the beach to play libero on the hard court for the Chargers..

Below is a summary of four matches for this week. All were critical because they were conference matches. At the end of the week I will give the remaining results from the critical matches I did not attend.