Mount Airy Wins State Championship/Chadwick Hits 1,000 Kills

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mount Airy last won the Maryland Christian School Tournament (MCST) championship back in 2021. They won their second championship this year sweeping Covenant Life in the finals. They also defeated Rockbridge Academy in the semi-finals. The tournament provided some redemption for them since they had lost in four against Rockbridge the last time they met and lost a five set thriller against Covenant Life earlier in the season. Overall Mount Airy finished 19-4 for the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the state tournament they swept all three of their opponents. <strong>Lila Doxzen </strong>was named the MVP of the tournament while <strong>Avery Witter</strong> and <strong>Emily Bartel </strong>were named to the All tournament team. Mount Airy next travels to Ohio to play Indy Metro in the National Christian School Athletic Association tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1049255"],"_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"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ae2d11beeb46"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Any team that wins a state championship deserves a mention in Prep Dig. Bella is the libero for Mount Airy Christian Academy, which just won the Maryland Christian School Tournament (MCST) championship, which is equivalent to a state championship for Christian Schools. After winning the state championship they will travel to Ohio where they will play in the National tournament against Indy Metro.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">I have yet to see Bella play but she is registered for the DMV Exposure tour in December. Her video shows some good reads of the hitters with constant foot movement. She shows no fear hitting the floor to keep a rally alive. For club she will play for Baltimore Elite.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">A player to put on the radar. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='265167' first='Laila' last='Chadwick'] Reaches 1,000 Digs in Concorde District Match</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In a District playoff match on one of her last hits of the match <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='265167' first='Laila' last='Chadwick']</strong> ripped off her 1,000th kill. Madison swept past Westfield pretty easily 25-18, 25-17 and 25-13 to advance to a Concorde final District match against Oakton. For Madison they have won their last 11 matches, with all but one of them against Oakton sweeps. They will play in the finals of their District tournament against Oakton next week. They defeated Oakton twice during the regular season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Madison has a veteran roster filled with Juniors and Seniors. Two of their setters, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='562335' first='Zeynep' last='Anaz']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='893325' first='Bella' last='Pham']</strong> are juniors. Their two left sides are seniors<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='265167' first='Laila' last='Chadwick']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='359401' first='Chloe' last='Barth'],</strong> although in this match junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='545723' first='Ella' last='Jarvis']</strong> was hitting left side while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='359401' first='Chloe' last='Barth']</strong> played right side. The senior middles <strong>Sophia Manning</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='539414' first='Giulia' last='Pescosolido']</strong> put up some good blocks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Westfield had already been swept twice coming into the match against Madison. It would be no different last night. Middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='830822' first='Campbell' last='Oakley'] </strong>played well for Westfield. She put a couple balls away from the middle but it fell short to create a win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["265167"],"_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"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ae362302885b"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Last year Laila won the Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year award but Madison fell short of the playoffs. Madison lost in five to Colgan in the semifinals. Colgan eventually lost to West Springfield in the finals. It would not surprise me if Laila would trade in the Gatorade Player of the Year award this year for a state championship. Ideally, it would be nice to win both.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">In the Westfield match Laila smacked down her 1,000th kill. That is quite impressive when you realize that she plays libero for her club team Metro. Back in 2022 she won the MVP award at the Capitol Hill Classic as an outside hitter. However, the next year she moved to the libero position recognizing it was the best position for her after seeing what giants Metro carried on their roster for outsides. The next year she won the best receiver award.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Laila has committed to Oklahoma where she will play Libero. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oakton played Chantilly in the other Concord District match. During the regular season Chantilly took down Oakton twice in five set matches. This time it was Oakton who won in five, taking the last two matches 25-17, 15-12. They will face Madison in the finals. The player to watch for Oakton is outside <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='754650' first='Madison' last='Meiring'].</strong> Oakton was my preseason pick to win the state championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">O'Connell Versus Holy Cross Again in the WCAC finals</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>From 2021 to 2024 Bishop O'Connell and Holy Cross dominated the WCAC by appearing in the finals for four consecutive seasons. O'Connell won three of those championships. Last year St. Johns upset Holy Cross while Paul VI beat Bishop O'Connell to end that streak. Paul VI ended up beating St. Johns to win the championship. For Holy Cross the loss ended a streak of appearing in 13 consecutive finals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last night Holy Cross earned a return to the championship with a 5 set victory over Paul VI, 17-25, 25-17, 16-25, 25-18, 18-16. Bishop O'Connell swept past St. Johns 25-18, 25-16, 25-14.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the first set O'Connell got behind early 4-0 after three consecutive aces from frosh server <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='875280' first='Hailey' last='Page']</strong>. During the next to last match this season St. Johns took a set against Bishop O'Connell, the only DMV team to do so this year. They kept the lead in the first set to 12-10 but failed to hold the lead after that. Hailey also led the team in digs with 8, and points scored serving with 13.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>O'Connell was led by the 13 kills from frosh <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='753097' first='Nadia' last='Wooten']</strong> and the 12 kills from sophomore right side <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='750056' first='Kiera' last='Jordan'].</strong> The 13 kills from Nadia almost equaled the total number of kills from the St. Johns for the entire match (15). Nadia also strung together six aces and 10 points from her top spin serve. Kiera contributed three blocks. [player_tooltip player_id='755675' first='Charlotte' last='Nelson'] led the team with 12 digs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The last time Holy Cross played the Knights they were swept in three. They played the match without [player_tooltip player_id='536721' first='Ana' last='Woods']. Ana should be available for this match.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Below are the selections for the WCAC first team players:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Player of the year -<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='385968' first='Macie' last='Murray']</strong> left side, senior (Bishop O'Connell)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='753097' first='Nadia' last='Wooten']</strong> left side, frosh (Bishop O'Connell), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='746506' first='Carolyn' last='Maria']</strong> setter/right side, sophomore (Bishop O'Connell), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='622282' first='Emerson' last='Wolfe']</strong> left side, junior (Holy Cross), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='472384' first='Kate' last='Bickel']</strong> libero, senior (Holy Cross), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='893067' first='Clara' last='Hays']</strong> libero, junior (Paul VI), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='941986' first='Coco' last='Lewis']</strong> left side, senior (Paul VI), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='748487' first='Sierra' last='Thomas']</strong> left side, sophomore (Bishop McNamara), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='534058' first='Alexa' last='Bracey']</strong> right side, senior (Bishop McNamara), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='437988' first='Sasha' last='Plummer']</strong> left side, senior (St. Johns), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1013121' first='Devyn' last='Jackson'] </strong>setter/right side, frosh (Elizabeth Seton)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">West Springfield Overpowers Fairfax to Win Patriot District Title</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the first two sets Fairfax battled West Springfield, falling just short 25-21, 25-23. In the end it became an issue of too much [player_tooltip player_id='693144' first='Layla' last='Babiker'], who pounded out 18 kills in the sweep. The Spartans overwhelmed the Lions in the third set 25-16. [player_tooltip player_id='720348' first='Milena' last='Kibret'] contributed 14 kills for West Springfield. The Patriot player of the year <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='438046' first='Anna' last='Dierks'] </strong>distributed 40 assists while the Patriot Libero of the Year <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='725456' first='Audrey' last='Busch']</strong> led the team in digs with 19.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["693144"],"_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"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ae4c3552f53e"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='693144' first='Layla' last='Babiker']</strong> is having quite the high school season. She sits second on the team in kills while also playing a solid six rotations. Her overall improvement also puts her second on the team in digs as well as service aces. Layla has improved in all categories of her game, one of the reasons West Springfield has started the season with 27 straight wins.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">At the beginning of the Patriot District championship match against Fairfax Layla was rewarded with a first team selection on the Patriot District all tournament team. She then went on fire with 18 kills to finish off Fairfax in three sets.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">At 5'8" she might be considered slightly undersized for an outside hitter, but her offensive production seems to counter that. Last year she played for [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] Alec 16. Based on her performance at the junior nationals I predicted her high school offensive numbers from last year would show improvement. They have certainly done that.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->