Bullis Bulldogs Win Their First ISL AA Championship

Since 2011 the Flint Hill Huskies have won the Independent School League (ISL) championship. In the past, the other teams in the ISL were just an opportunity for Flint Hill to play their bench. The schools have gotten much stronger now. Four of the top ten high schools in the Washington Post volleyball rankings reside in the ISL. As far as the Prep Dig top twenty there are three of the top ten teams listed in the conference. The Potomac School is a recent addition to the top ten by the Washington Post because of their upset over Flint Hill during the regular season. Prep Dig still requires more activity on their schedule before we rank them over the other high schools.   There are eight teams in the AA division of the ISL and seven teams in the A division. The teams play a regular season with the standings determining the seeding for the end of the year tournament. In the AA the first round went as expected with number one seed Georgetown Day sweeping Stone Ridge, Flint Hill doing the same with Georgetown Visitation, Bullis sweeping National Cathedral and finally Potomac sweeping Episcopal. No surprises, with the top four teams all advancing.    She sets and hits right side for Potomac. At 5'11" she brings some height to the setting position. For the Panthers she stays right side to provide offense, clearly finding success there as she ranks third on the team in kills. She also fits third in blocks and second in digs. And while setting in the back row it puts her number one in assists.   For Virginia Elite she normally finds herself as the back up setter who fills in on the right side. Virginia Elite normally runs a 5/1 offense with their older teams.   Adalene has committed to Williams College to pursue her education and volleyball career.      Georgetown Day had their hands full in their semi-final match against Potomac School. The Panthers took the first set 25-20. They were led by the trio of [player_tooltip player_id='477134' first='Zora' last='Burrell'] (13 kills), [player_tooltip player_id='235289' first='Adalene' last='Rodgers'] (13 kills) and [player_tooltip player_id='501551' first='Skylar' last='Giuliani'] (10 kills). Skylar also participated in six blocks while [player_tooltip player_id='238594' first='Zoe' last='Eyre'] completed 5. [player_tooltip player_id='475903' first='Avery' last='Byrnes'] led the team with two solo blocks. Sophomore Sophia Grimm shared the setting responsibilities with Rodgers while frosh [player_tooltip player_id='722541' first='Lily' last='Gurney'] kept the team in system with her passing.   Georgetown Day bounced back and won the next two sets 25-20 and 25-10. [player_tooltip player_id='181763' first='Jada' last='Aksu'] was having a day with her 27 kills while the other left side [player_tooltip player_id='248705' first='Zoe' last='Ryu'] blasted 15 kills. [player_tooltip player_id='326533' first='Shiraz' last='Benyoucef'] prevented balls from hitting the floor with her 26 digs. Finally, [player_tooltip player_id='292644' first='Caycee' last='Chhum'] fed the hitters with her 54 assists.   The Panthers pulled off a surprise by beating the Mighty Hoppers in game four 26-24. Georgetown Day again battled back and won the fifth set 15-11. The Cinderella team of the conference did not go quietly and now will regroup for the VISAA state championship.   The other semifinal match featured Bullis against Flint Hill. If any match was destined for five this would be the one. The last time these two teams played Bullis carried a 14-12 lead into set five but lost 16-14. That was early in the season. They show a much more polished team now.   Bullis pulled off the sweep with 25-16, 28-26, 25-9 wins. [player_tooltip player_id='181300' first='Alexis' last='Ewing'] led the way with her 18 kills while libero [player_tooltip player_id='184604' first='Nia' last='Thomas'] picked up six aces and 15 digs. The blocking tandem of [player_tooltip player_id='377396' first='Alexa' last='Telly'] and [player_tooltip player_id='248712' first='Kyla' last='Harris'] kept the Huskies to a .066 hitting percentage, rejecting Huskie spikes with nine blocks.   This created a championship match between the Mighty Hoppers and the Bulldogs.. During the regular season the Hoppers proved superior defeating Bullis in four. Bullis showed the second time around they would be much more competitive.   The first set went to Georgetown Day 25-23. Bullis captured the lead in the early part of the game but Georgetown Day broke loose with a [player_tooltip player_id='248705' first='Zoe' last='Ryu'] kill followed by an ace to pull ahead 24-20. Bullis fought back with a [player_tooltip player_id='183589' first='Angelique' last='Desamours'] kill, a [player_tooltip player_id='248712' first='Kyla' last='Harris'] block and a [player_tooltip player_id='181300' first='Alexis' last='Ewing'] kill to pull within one 24-23. A [player_tooltip player_id='181763' first='Jada' last='Aksu'] tip from behind the three meter line fell to the floor and gave the Hoppers the first set 25-23.    Last year the setting chores were shared between [player_tooltip player_id='321677' first='Charis' last='Burge'] and Megan. Charis returned to Urbana this year, giving Megan the reins for setting a 5/1. It appears she did quite well with a 21-2 finish in the ISL and a championship trophy to present on her resume. Megan also ranks as one of the top servers on the team, ranking second in aces. She finished off the match against Georgetown Day with an ace.   For Virginia Jrs she played up in 2022 and shared the setting responsibilities while running a 6/2. This past year she chose to play down to set a 5/1 for a talented group of 2027s. They qualified for the USA Division at Junior Nationals and just missed getting into the gold bracket, finishing in 13place out of 36 teams. Currently Megan ranks fifth for setters in the class of 2026.      The second set Bullis jumped out to an early 13-6 lead and kept it. [player_tooltip player_id='181300' first='Alexis' last='Ewing'] showed off her ability to play six rotations with accurate passing and the ability to raise her 6'3" frame above the net to fire missiles to the floor. When she extends that arm high above her head and whips it through the zone she becomes difficult to stop. The ball lands in places others cannot find. [player_tooltip player_id='206729' first='Megan' last='Phan'] completed a block from the right side and a Hopper hitting error ended the set 25-17 and evened the series at a game apiece.   Georgetown Day stayed in control early in the third set. A [player_tooltip player_id='292644' first='Caycee' last='Chhum'] ace put them up 14-10. Even after Bullis battled back with two [player_tooltip player_id='181300' first='Alexis' last='Ewing'] kills and a [player_tooltip player_id='181235' first='Sydney' last='Mayfield'] kill to close it 14-13 the Hoppers pulled ahead again 17-13. Try as they might Bullis had trouble catching the Hoppers and a [player_tooltip player_id='248705' first='Zoe' last='Ryu'] kill put them ahead 23-18.   Bullis did not panic. Three kills, one each from Ewing, Telly and Mayfield and another Ewing kill pulled them to within one at 22-23. Momentum had shifted. A setter dump by [player_tooltip player_id='206729' first='Megan' last='Phan'] tied the set at 23 apiece but a Ryu tip to the floor gave Georgetown Day set point with serve. Telly connected on a quick set in the middle to tie the game again and a Mayfield ace put the Bulldogs up by one. A Hopper hitting error ended the set 26-24.   In the fourth set Georgetown Day took the lead early, going up by as much as 11-7. Once the Bulldogs pulled even at 11-11 no team could go ahead by more than one. Late in the game middle [player_tooltip player_id='377396' first='Alexa' last='Telly'] (positioned for the serve receive) delivered a perfect pass and then moved to the right side for the kill. A Hopper hitting error put the Bulldogs up 20-18. [player_tooltip player_id='183589' first='Angelique' last='Desamours'] finished off a spike and a [player_tooltip player_id='206729' first='Megan' last='Phan'] front row dump extended the Bulldog lead to 22-18. The Hoppers could not recover after that.   The point that showed off the growth of Ewing occurred after she shanked a serve to pull the Hoppers to within two at 20-22. A couple years ago the younger Ewing would glance at the sideline in panic to look for advice. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, the current Ewing has matured. She buckled down, made a perfect pass on the next serve and [player_tooltip player_id='183589' first='Angelique' last='Desamours'] put the ball away. Another Georgetown Day hitting error followed by an ace from [player_tooltip player_id='206729' first='Megan' last='Phan'] finished the match off for the championship, a 25-20 fourth set win.    Lana won a top performer award at our Prep Dig showcase. She impressed with how hard her 6'0" frame can put the ball to the floor, first when she played at Junior Nationals in Las Vegas and then at the Prep Dig showcase. Her skill level earned a ranking in the top 100. As sometimes happens with a Maryland profile in a Virginia ranking her name dropped out of the rankings as it looked for a Maryland ranking to reside in. She will return to the rankings when they get updated sometime in December.   Holton-Arms won the A conference in the ISL defeating St. Andrews Episcopal in five. That means they will rise to the Class AA level next year. They only have Bullis to look at as an example for success. Four or five years ago the Bulldogs won the A conference to move up to AA. Now they are the champs in AA.    Holton Arms played St. Andrews Episcopal in the finals of the A Divsion. Holton Arms would win in five. St. Andrews has Prep Dig top performer frosh [player_tooltip player_id='569865' first='Eireni' last='Scott'] on their roster. Eireni ranks number 9 in our class of 2028. They also have the 6'0" left side [player_tooltip player_id='181306' first='Norah' last='Oppenheim'] on their roster. She ranks at number 154 in the class of 2025. Holton Arms has a talnted roster with libero [player_tooltip player_id='530364' first='Caroline' last='Apergis'], left side [player_tooltip player_id='714418' first='Lana' last='Cvijetinovic'], setter [player_tooltip player_id='535101' first='Kamora' last='Mack'] and the 6'1" New York University commit [player_tooltip player_id='397546' first='EvaJolie' last='Cavalier']. With their championship win they will move up to AA next year.

Since 2011 the Flint Hill Huskies have won the Independent School League (ISL) championship. In the past, the other teams in the ISL were just an opportunity for Flint Hill to play their bench. The schools have gotten much stronger now. Four of the top ten high schools in the Washington Post volleyball rankings reside in the ISL. As far as the Prep Dig top twenty there are three of the top ten teams listed in the conference. The Potomac School is a recent addition to the top ten by the Washington Post because of their upset over Flint Hill during the regular season. Prep Dig still requires more activity on their schedule before we rank them over the other high schools.