VHSL Region 5 Girls Volleyball

<p>The VHSL Regional Playoffs kicked off Monday for Region 5 in the commonwealth of Virginia. Dozens of teams continue on their quest to capture the ever-elusive state title. Some are consistent contenders and champions, many are upstarts trying to break through into the realm of the perennial elite programs. This year’s regional and state tournaments are different with only the regional champion advancing to the state championship round. This time of the year is one and done and with teams having the additional hurdle of Covid and quarantines, it’s a crazy year to battle through to make it to the state championship, but it’s been quite a ride for many teams. </p> <p><img class="size-medium wp-image-133392 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/02/IMG_2022-140x300.jpg" alt="" width="140" height="300" /></p> <p>Region 5A consists of the teams in the eastern part of the state. This year’s regional class includes 4 semifinalists:  Seeded Woodside, Princess Anne, Hickory, and Maury. The semifinals will be played at Green Run High. In semifinal #1, Princess Anne takes on Maury at 6 pm. Semifinal #2 will immediately follow with Woodside taking on Hickory. Princess <span style="font-size: 1rem;">Anne made the semis after a quarterfinal sweep of rival Kempsville. Maury took down Granby in 4 sets in their quarterfinal. Katie McCullough and Maddie Dixon were dominant in Maury’s win against Granby with a combined 18 kills. Setter Laney Ritter dished 24 assists and Libero Noelle Searing dug 10 balls for the Lady Commodores. Princess Anne was d</span>ominant in their quarterfinal, led by Division 1 Providence signee [player_tooltip player_id="111361" first="Jiji" last="Lykins"] who had 20 kills and 9 digs. Noelle Starr scored a double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs. Caitlin Jones led the team with 14 digs. Princess Anne is a senior laden team with lost of talent and will be a tough contest for the race to states. </p> <p>Hickory swept Indian River with strong performances from Sophomore Outside Hitter Rayne Manning with 16 kills<img class="alignright" src="https://cdn1.sportngin.com/attachments/roster_player_info/5aeb-151952093/CHRVC_medium.JPG" alt="Chrvc medium" width="116" height="121" /> and Senior [player_tooltip player_id="111373" first="Sydney" last="Love"] and Junior Kayla Rogan combining for 17 kills. Junior Setter Milly Mach dished 23 assists for the Lady Hawks. Woodside had a hard fought match to beat out Kecoughtan but outlasted the Warriors in 5 sets. The Woodside Wolverines take on Hickory in the other semifinal. Some players to watch for Woodside include Senior Attacker Keyah Brown ans Setter/Opposite Nicole Donovan. </p> <p><img class="size-medium wp-image-126914 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/01/IMG_1193-300x225.png" alt="" width="300" height="225" />Region 5B includes several perennial star programs with 4th seeded Atlee taking on top seeded Midlothian and 2nd seeded Godwin taking on #3 Prince George. Midlothian swept Matoaca in the quarterfinals, while Atlee ended Deep Run’s season with a 3-0 sweep. Prince George outlasted Freeman 3-1 and Godwin swept rival Glen Allen 3 sets to 0 in the other quarterfinal. Glen Allen will host the semifinals and finals. The semifinals were Wednesday with Godwin sweeping Prince George to secure a spot in the Regional Finals. They will take on Atlee who beat Midlothian 3 sets to 1. <span style="font-weight: 400;">Godwin was led by Division 1 signee Junior Outside Hitter [player_tooltip player_id="111443" first="Kaitlyn" last="McNeel"] who had 30 kills, 2 aces, 10 digs. Jamie Wright added 35 assists and Ryan Taylor added in 5 kills. For Prince George, Setter Kassidy Reed had 16 assists, 3 aces, 5 digs. Middle Hitter Grace Peterson added in 9 kills and 3 blocks. Other top performers were Makayla Easter  with 9 kills and 3 blocks and Jaylin Slaughter’s 4 aces, 9 kills, 4 digs, 2 blocks performance. Top seeded Midlothian had great performances from </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Diana Wesolosky and Bri Leeper who both had double-doubles. Wesolosky with 13 kills, 12 digs, 2 aces and Bri Leeper 11 kills, 12 digs, 3 aces performance. Setter Katie Arrington added 13 assists, 6 digs for the Lady Trojans. Perennial powerhouse Atlee was led by stellar Setter Brianna Brown’s 43 assists, 6 kills, 19 digs. Other top performers for the Lady Raiders included Audrey Ellenberger with 19 digs and 2 aces and the top offensive performance by Morgan Crawford’s 18 kills, 5 blocks, 5 digs, and an ace. Godwin will face Atlee at Glen Allen at 5:30 PM on Friday, April 16 for the lone spot for States, a rematch of an epic Regional match-up from 2019. </span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><img class="alignleft" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ey-Sp6VWQAILSOA?format=jpg&amp;name=large" alt="Image" width="371" height="278" />In the 5C bracket, four powerhouses squared off as Stone Bridge took on Rock Ridge in the first semifinal. Stone Bridge upset top seeded Thomas Jefferson in the first round but could not handle a determined Rock Ridge team. Rock Ridge took the match 3 sets to 1 to make the Regional final. In the other semifinal, the Riverside Rams took on Freedom High and the Rams fell 3-1 with the Freedom Eagles punching their ticket to host Rock Ridge in the finals on Thursday at 6 PM. </p> <p>The 5D bracket is the larger schools in the western part of the state headlined by top seeded Albemarle High. Albemarle secured a spot in the semifinals with a 3-0 win over North Stafford and will take on Mountain View who won against a young but talented team from Patrick Henry Roanoke. The finals are set for </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>