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The Rockbridge County High School volleyball team cruised to another dominant victory against Broadway last Tuesday night in Lexington.
The Wildcats also picked up road wins over Turner Ashby and East Rockingham last week, remaining perfect in Valley District play at 8-0 and improving to 18-1 overall.
Last Tuesday, the Wildcats defeated the Gobblers handily in straight sets: 25-7, 25-8, 25-9. Head coach Kassidy Beagan says her team’s confidence is at an all-time high.
“I think they’re very confident in our team and our skills,” Beagan said. “We have a really deep bench, and everyone can be on the court and we can succeed with everybody. I think that everybody believing in each other is a huge part of our confidence.”
Sophie Vaught led the Wildcats’ offensive production with nine kills, and she also added two digs. McKenzie Burch tallied 20 assists, eight digs and two kills.
Broadway (6-11, 1-7 Valley) seemed to have no answers for the Wildcats’ serves. Nala Shearer and Maddie Dahl each had five aces for RC, which finished with 17 total aces.
Beagan says this is something they constantly work on in practice, and it was a part of the game plan last Tuesday night.
“I think that one of our biggest strengths is our serve,” the RC coach said. “Every time we step behind the line, I think our intentions are to get an ace. They do a good job of serving their spots.” Much like many of its matchups this season, RC jumped out to an early lead in the first set and didn’t give up the advantage for the entire match.
The Wildcats started the set with a 16-3 run, prompting a Broadway timeout to regroup. RC came out of that timeout with high energy, closing out the set on a 9-4 run to win 25-7.
The Gobblers provided little resistance to the dominant RC attack. However, in the final set, Broadway opened with four unanswered points. But the Wildcats bounced back with authority, responding with 15 straight points to run away with the clinching set 25-9.
The RC team also played for a bigger purpose last Tuesday night. The game marked their first match in October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness month. The Wildcats sported special pink uniforms, as did many supporters in attendance.
“We have some family members on the team that have fallen with breast cancer, so it means a lot to us, and we are here to support them and be here for them,” Beagan said.
RC 3, TA 0
RC rolled past Turner Ashby 25-13, 25-16, 25-18 in Bridgewater on Monday of last week.
Vaught notched 13 kills and a pair of blocks to lead the Wildcats past the Knights (11-7, 5-2), while Sophia Perlozzo added nine kills. Dahl finished with five kills, five blocks and eight digs, and Burch recorded 28 assists and five aces.
Shearer led the RC defense with 19 digs. Maisen McKemy and Rebekah Allen chipped in seven digs apiece, and Ava Crocker notched two aces.
RC 3, East Rock 0
The Wildcats closed out the week by completing a season sweep of East Rockingham, collecting a 25-15, 25-16, 25-22 victory in Elkton on Thursday.
Vaught recorded eight kills and three blocks, and Dahl contributed seven kills, five blocks, four aces and 10 digs. Burch tallied 30 assists and nine digs, and Shearer posted 17 digs.
Perlozzo chipped in five kills as RC picked up its 14th consecutive victory. The Wildcats also won 3-0 over the Eagles (13-6, 5-3) in Lexington on Sept. 12.
Geneva Snyder added four blocks and three kills for the ’Cats, while Jada Hamilton picked up three blocks and Allen notched seven digs.
The Wildcats were scheduled to play host to Harrisonburg on Tuesday. RC then returns to action at Spotswood next Tuesday, Oct. 17, beginning with the junior varsity contest at 5:30 p.m.
ABOVE, RC senior libero Nala Shearer races off the court to keep the ball in play during Thursday’s 3-0 win at East Rockingham, forcing Wildcat head coach Kassidy Beagan to hastily get out of the way. AT LEFT, freshman Geneva Snyder follows through on a swing against Broadway. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photos)
