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The Rockbridge County High School volleyball team came from behind to record a thrilling 3-2 victory over Fort Defiance in a non-district matchup in Lexington last Monday.
The Wildcats would go on to sweep Valley District foes East Rockingham and Harrisonburg, closing out the week with a 12-1 overall record and a 3-0 mark in district play.
But Monday’s match was the highlight of the week, as RC overcame a 2-1 deficit to claim a22-25, 27-25, 20-25, 2514, 15-12 win over the Indians.
Sophie Vaught totaled 22 kills and three aces to pace the Wildcats. Maddie Dahl recorded 17 kills, 20 digs and a pair of blocks for RC, while McKenzie Burch returned from an injury to rack up 47 assists, 23 digs and five kills, and Nala Shearer amassed 51 digs.
Maecy Frizzelle paced Fort with 21 kills and three blocks, and Trinity Hedrick added 17 kills and two aces. Carleyanne Ryder finished with 42 assists and four kills for the Class 2 Indians, who capped the week at 6-5 overall – with all five losses coming to larger schools.
RC head coach Kassidy Beagan thought her team displayed a strong will to win after twice falling behind in the match.
“Even though there were times when we were down, our mindset never changed,” Beagan said. “Our mindset was always that this is our game, and we just need to work for it.”
The Wildcats led 21-17 late in a backand- forth first set, only to see the Indians close the frame on an 8-1 run that featured two kills apiece from Hedrick and Ella Shreckhise.
But RC turned the tables in the second frame. Trailing 24-21, the ’Cats fought off three set points, going on to even up the match in extras. Vaught had six kills in the set, including the clincher.
Another late run in the third set allowed Fort to take a 2-1 lead in the contest. The Wildcats held a 19-18 edge before the Indians scored seven of the last eight points, getting two kills and an ace from Shreckhise to close things out.
Outside of Vaught – who had at least three kills in each of the five sets – the RC offense was stop-and-start through the early stages of the match. Fort also served well, producing five aces in the second set and three more in the third.
“We just weren’t executing our offense. … Our serve-receive wasn’t ter-
