Big Upsets in Conference Playoff Matches

The Independent schools are having their conference playoffs while the public schools are going through their District tournaments to determine what team qualifies for the Regional playoffs. There have been some big upsets along the way. Below are the highlights.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Paul VI Wins Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) </h2>   In the last four years Bishop O'Connell has faced Holy Cross in the WCAC championship finals. Bishop O'Connell has won three of the last four tournaments. Holy Cross has participated in the last 13 championships while winning seven. This season Holy Cross defeated Bishop O'Connell to take first place in the conference and earn the number one seed for the tournament. O'Connell finished second to take the number two seed. It seemed like more of the same until the semi-finals.   The first big upset may not be that big of a surprise since Paul VI battled O'Connell to five sets the last time these two teams played. Also, O'Connell was missing [player_tooltip player_id='746506' first='Carolyn' last='Maria'] one of their top offensive performers, who suffered a thumb injury when playing against Bishop McNamara. She is one of three players who generate most of the offense for the Knights.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/06/92-Maris-Francescon.jpg?w=851" alt="" class="wp-image-781915" style="width:443px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='541140' first='Maris' last='Francescon']</figcaption></figure>   As to be expected from this loss the Knights were outgunned. [player_tooltip player_id='357402' first='Coco' last='Lewis'] could not be stopped no matter where she attacked. [player_tooltip player_id='541140' first='Maris' last='Francescon'] and [player_tooltip player_id='722900' first='Amanda' last='Dadio'] were depositing nice low sets along the three meter line that proved too difficult to block. The last time these two teams played Coco finished with 13 kills, but she also strafed a number of balls deep for 11 hitting errors. This time her 21 kills were accompanied by zero hitting errors. In the first two sets her missiles from the back row were finding the court. The Panthers benefitted, winning the first two matches pretty handily 25-20 and 25-21. With her performance it might have been tough even if [player_tooltip player_id='746506' first='Carolyn' last='Maria'] played.   O'Connell jumped out to an early lead in the third set thanks to the serving of [player_tooltip player_id='612396' first='Natalie' last='Hobson']. She jump started the team to a 5-0 lead. With [player_tooltip player_id='385968' first='Macie' last='Murray'] contributing many of her 23 kills from the outside and [player_tooltip player_id='488812' first='Olivia' last='Boggs'] getting opportunities from the middle the Knights took the third set 25-20.   The problem for the Knights is that without the 3.3 kills per set from [player_tooltip player_id='746506' first='Carolyn' last='Maria'] their offense was too reliant on [player_tooltip player_id='385968' first='Macie' last='Murray'] from the left side and [player_tooltip player_id='488812' first='Olivia' last='Boggs'] from the middle. When the passing breaks down the offense sputters. The passing broke down. Macie finished the game with 23 kills in 53 attempts while the inconsistent passing from the Knights only gave [player_tooltip player_id='488812' first='Olivia' last='Boggs'] 11 hitting opportunities. Too many passes did not pass the three meter line which placed the entirety of the offense on Macie. The other offensive pieces combined for 56 kill attempts for 9 kills and 14 hitting errors for negative production.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/12/77-Amanda-Dadio.jpg?w=825" alt="" class="wp-image-729686" style="width:386px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='722900' first='Amanda' last='Dadio']</figcaption></figure>   Paul VI jumped out to a huge lead early in the fourth set and won 25-20. Libero [player_tooltip player_id='893067' first='Clara' last='Hays'] kept rallies alive with her 32 digs while [player_tooltip player_id='722900' first='Amanda' last='Dadio'] led the Panthers with 22 assists. It appeared [player_tooltip player_id='541140' first='Maris' last='Francescon'] brought more than 9 assists to the match but that is what was recorded. Obtaining libero [player_tooltip player_id='893067' first='Clara' last='Hays'] (the coaches' daughter from Woodgrove), [player_tooltip player_id='357402' first='Coco' last='Lewis'] (Herndon) and [player_tooltip player_id='333650' first='Louise' last='Neuhart'] (Virginia Academy) as transfers from other schools greatly improved their roster.   In the second semi-final match St. John's pulled off the biggest upset. After being swept by Holy Cross the first time they played them they took them to five in their second encounter, losing the fifth set 15-11. In the playoff match the Cadets won the first two sets 25-21, 25-18. Holy Cross battled back to take the next two sets 25-22, 25-13. After that fourth set you would think Holy Cross carried the momentum, however St. John's battled back to take the fifth set 17-15.   [player_tooltip player_id='221032' first='Wynn' last='Mendez Eaton'] contributed 48 assists in the match with left sides [player_tooltip player_id='437988' first='Sasha' last='Plummer'] (21) and [player_tooltip player_id='238356' first='Morgan' last='Reeves'] (20) combining for 41 kills. [player_tooltip player_id='625593' first='Cairo' last='Turner'] handed in 9 kills with four solo blocks. Wynn also led the team with 20 digs. Sasha (15) and Morgan (18) combined for 33 digs.   The Holy Cross offense was manufactured mainly by [player_tooltip player_id='536721' first='Ana' last='Woods'] (19), [player_tooltip player_id='622282' first='Emerson' last='Wolfe'] (18) and Catherine Mcintyre (13). Kate Bickel led both teams in digs with 24.   After four years it was nice to see two new teams finding themselves facing each other in the finals. The third place team Paul VI in the WCAC was going against the fourth place team St. Johns. Since Paul VI had already swept St. Johns twice during the regular season, if the finals mimicked the semi-finals St. Johns looked in pretty good shape.   In the first set Paul VI rocked to an early 5-2 lead, their two left sides [player_tooltip player_id='333650' first='Louise' last='Neuhart'] and [player_tooltip player_id='357402' first='Coco' last='Lewis'] finishing off with kills. The Panthers kept that lead until a [player_tooltip player_id='238356' first='Morgan' last='Reeves'] cross court kill tied the score at 17-17. An ace serve by [player_tooltip player_id='808073' first='Olivia' last='Stroupe'] and hitting error by St. Johns pulled the Panthers ahead 23-20 while a quick set tip to the floor by Neuhart moved it to 24-21. [player_tooltip player_id='437988' first='Sasha' last='Plummer'] delivered on a cross court kill, [player_tooltip player_id='221032' 'Wynn' last='Mendez Eaton'] followed with an ace and a [player_tooltip player_id='625593' first='Cairo' last='Turner'] quick tempo kill tied the game 24-24. A hitting error by Paul VI actually gave the Cadets the lead 25-24.   [player_tooltip player_id='333650' first='Louise' last='Neuhart'] tied the set 25-25 with a clutch cross court hit, then followed with an ace to put the Panthers up 26-25. [player_tooltip player_id='625593' first='Cairo' last='Turner'] tied it but a [player_tooltip player_id='541140' first='Maris' last='Francescon'] down ball at the net was misplayed by St. Johns to again give the Panthers match point at 27-26. A hitting error on an attempted back row attack by St. Johns produced the 28-26 win.   The second set also remained tight until the end, with a hitting error by the Panthers pulling St. Johns to within one 21-20. [player_tooltip player_id='333650' first='Louise' last='Neuhart'] used the block to score a point and an ace by Ellie West followed by a tip from Neuhart moved the score to 24-20. A [player_tooltip player_id='437988' first='Sasha' last='Plummer'] jolt gave the Cadets one point but a back row blast from [player_tooltip player_id='357402' first='Coco' last='Lewis'] after a long rally put the Panthers up 2-0 with a 25-22 win.   The last set St. Johns pulled ahead 7-1 with [player_tooltip player_id='625593' first='Cairo' last='Turner'] leading the way with a platform pass into the corner, a quick tempo kill and a block. [player_tooltip player_id='333650' first='Louise' last='Neuhart'] went on a five point serving run, including delivering an ace after a timeout to knot the score at 7-7. [player_tooltip player_id='238356' first='Morgan' last='Reeves'] from the back row and [player_tooltip player_id='625593' first='Cairo' last='Turner'] on an overset put the Cadets up by two again 9-7. Coco with a couple blasts put the Panthers up for the first time 12-11. It remained close with a couple [player_tooltip player_id='377340' first='Mary' last='Ross'] kills from each side put the Panthers up 19-17.   A [player_tooltip player_id='357402' first='Coco' last='Lewis'] ace and a [player_tooltip player_id='541140' first='Maris' last='Francescon'] setter dump moved the Panthers ahead 22-18. The Panthers smelled victory after a [player_tooltip player_id='357402' first='Coco' last='Lewis'] kill put them two points away at 23-19. After a Cadet serving error put the Panthers one point from victory at 24-20 two [player_tooltip player_id='437988' first='Sasha' last='Plummer'] kills and a [player_tooltip player_id='625593' first='Cairo' last='Turner'] block pulled them to within one 23-24. The Panthers turned to what worked for them best with a [player_tooltip player_id='357402' first='Coco' last='Lewis'] back row attack to produce a 25-23 win.   While it was a Paul VI sweep it did not come easy. I counted at least 22 kills for Coco, with four delivered from the back row. Two of them finished off the last two sets. She hit the ball whether swinging from the left side, middle, right side or middle back. Libero [player_tooltip player_id='893067' first='Clara' last='Hays'] played a smooth back row with her passing and defense. Her platform pass looks like she perfected it at the beach. Last year I did not see a club footprint for her.   For St. Johns [player_tooltip player_id='238356' first='Morgan' last='Reeves'] led the charge including three kills down the line when she recognized a shorter block on the right side. [player_tooltip player_id='221032' first='Wynn' last='Mendez Eaton'] set a 5/1 to pick up 23 assists, but more importantly scored 20 points with her serve, including two aces. [player_tooltip player_id='541140' first='Maris' last='Francescon'] set all three games for Paul the VI while [player_tooltip player_id='722900' first='Amanda' last='Dadio'] was called on for the first and third sets. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='308751' first='Olivia' last='LeBlanc'] set the middle game.   For Paul VI this was their seventh WCAC championship, the last occurring in 2018. For St. Johns their only WCAC championship was won in 2019, the year after Paul VI. Both will now get ready for their respective state championships, DC for St. Johns and Virginia for Paul VI. The Panthers have won three VISAA championships, in 1999, 2000 and 2004. St. Johns used to dominated in DC but have failed to capture a championship in the last four years.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">An Independent School League (ISL) Surprise Final</h2>   The ISL is broken out into two divisions "A" and "AA". The AA is composed of the stronger teams while the winner of the "A" sometimes gets rewarded by being bumped up to "AA". Last years "A" winner Holton Arms stayed in their division. The team that advanced to AA were Saint Andrews Episcopal, who lost in the semifinals. Bullis, the defending "AA" champion lost seven starters. Flint Hill was down this year leaving Georgetown Day prepped to win their first ISL crown.   They began the quest by first sweeping past ex-champion Bullis in the quarter final. The Mighty Hoppers served up 18 aces in the sweep with [player_tooltip player_id='377396' first='Alexa' last='Telly'] leading the way with six. After Flint Hill swept past Potomac that brought a semi-final match between Georgetown Day and multiple ISL champ Flint Hill. During the regular season Georgetown Day swept past Flint Hill. The same outcome occurred in the semi-finals with [player_tooltip player_id='377396' first='Alexa' last='Telly'] leading the way with 13 kills while [player_tooltip player_id='355124' first='Fiona' last='McDermott'] banged out 10.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/20-Eireni-Scott.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-589175" style="width:593px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='569865' first='Eireni' last='Scott']</figcaption></figure>   The other bracket saw the first big upset when the "A" promoted Saint Andrews Episcopal, who won only one conference match during the AA regualr season defeated the second seed Georgetown Visitation in four. Saint Andrews lacks any roster information for this year. Last year they had super frosh [player_tooltip player_id='569865' first='Eireni' last='Scott'] wreak havoc in the "A" conference. While their 1-6 record put them in seventh place in the conference ahead of only Bullis they still managed to eliminate the second place team in four.   After upsetting the number two seed they went up against Episcopal, who upset the number three seed National Cathedral in five. Despite 29 Kills from [player_tooltip player_id='438098' first='Kennedy' last='Williams'] Cathedral fell short in the fifth set 15-12. Saint Andrews Episcopal then beat Episcopal in five to again make it to the finals of the ISL, but this time in the "AA" division. The first two sets the Mighty Hoppers did not give up more than 11 points. However, the third set Saint Andrews was competitive scoring 21 points.   Georgetown Day will next play in the DC state tournament.   The "A" bracket saw a final between Holton Arms against Stone Ridge. Stone Ridge swept them in three.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Other District Playoff Games from Last Week</h2>   Denbigh Baptist Christian won in five over Broadwater Academy. The leader in kills for Virginia [player_tooltip player_id='752075' first='Julia' last='Kinney'] swatted 33 kills in 66 attempts. She also served up seven aces as well as picked up a team leading 13 digs. The Minutewomen had to take the last two sets 25-18 and 15-6 to win the match. Frosh Miranda Smith finished with 10 blocks for Broadwater, five of them solo blocks. The next day number 23 StoneBridge (35-0) would get 20 kills from Madalyn Warlick to sweep Denbigh with [player_tooltip player_id='752075' first='Julia' last='Kinney'] limited to 19 kills. [player_tooltip player_id='828505' first='Zara' last='Ofole'] reached high for 6 blocks. Zara is a fun player to watch when blocking middle. Her hands swarm way beyond the net.   Number 12 Midlothian (20-1) grabbed a big win over Deep Run (16-3), who was on the bubble for a top 25 ranking. The next day Deep Run would lose to Atlee (16-1), who had appeared to be earning a spot inside the top 25 bubble. Midlothian swept passed Huguenut on the same day.   Number 18 Christiansburg avoided a big upset by overcoming Blacksburg (9-12). After winning the first two sets 25-10, 25-9 the Blue Demons took them too lightly and Blacksburg took the next two 27-25, 25-22. Christiansburg was able to capture the fifth set 15-8. Setter/right side [player_tooltip player_id='495264' first='Ela' last='Shepherd'] led the team in kills with 21, put up five blocks and achieved her triple double with 11 digs and 21 assists. [player_tooltip player_id='819657' first='Tatum' last='Trotter'] put up seven blocks while Ellie Eddleton contributed 14 kills with 22 digs. [player_tooltip player_id='803268' first='Reese' last='Hall'] was serving missiles, accumulating 28 points with 15 aces. Later in the week Christiansburg was able to win another five setter, this time against their rival Hidden Valley, taking the fifth set 15-6.   Number 5 North Hagerstown remained one of the only undefeated teams with a four set win over Urbana. [player_tooltip player_id='303701' first='Caydence' last='Doolan'] powered 31 kills while also picking up 18 digs. Frosh libero/defensive specialist [player_tooltip player_id='895591' first='Aleah' last='Merrbaugh'] picked up 17 digs.   Number 12 Richard Montgomery downed on the bubble Wootten in four. The Rockets needed to win the last three sets to capture the match. The Mitchell sisters [player_tooltip player_id='536719' first='Katherine' last='Mitchell'] (20) and [player_tooltip player_id='412056' first='Elizabeth' last='Mitchell'] (14) combined for 34 kills. [player_tooltip player_id='491007' first='Ana' last='Djordjevic'] kept rallies alive by scooping up 23 digs, She also fired seven aces.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/10-Rujuta-Singh.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-589165" style="width:568px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='554770' first='Rujuta' last='Singh'] </figcaption></figure>   When I arrived for the Langley/Wakefield match Wakefield had won the first set 26-24 and were leading in the second set 7-2. My presence changed everything as Langley went on to win the remaining three sets 25-16, 25-20 and 25-10. When [player_tooltip player_id='296486' first='Taylor' last='Harrington'] was in the front row she hit a mixture of outside and middle sets. She proved difficult to contain. However, the balanced attack of Langley with [player_tooltip player_id='554770' first='Rujuta' last='Singh'] and [player_tooltip player_id='608978' first='Francise' last='Ramirez'] on the outside, [player_tooltip player_id='377330' first='Chloe' last='Lin'] in the middle and [player_tooltip player_id='739977' first='Elizabeth' last='Hemberg'] on the right side proved too much. [player_tooltip player_id='238357' first='Claire' last='Mo'] set a 5/1 after the first set loss with [player_tooltip player_id='239322' first='Hailey' last='Park'] playing defense in the back row for Hemberg.

The Independent schools are having their conference playoffs while the public schools are going through their District tournaments to determine what team qualifies for the Regional playoffs. There have been some big upsets along the way. Below are the highlights.