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Saturday, Nov. 11 -- Christiansburg battled back to post a 3-2 victory over Rockbridge County High School in the VHSL Class 3 volleyball quarterfinals in Lexington.
The Blue Demons (22-5) rebounded from a 2-0 deficit to record a 23-25, 17-25, 25-15, 25-17, 15-9 win over the Wildcats (27-2). Christiansburg will face Region D rival Hidden Valley (31-1) in Tuesday's state semifinals in Roanoke.
Ela Shepherd racked up 17 kills, 23 assists, eight blocks and nine digs to pace the Blue Demons on Saturday. Braelynn Williams posted 13 blocks and eight kills for Christiansburg, and Addison Reasor added 13 kills.
Sophie Vaught secured a team-high 14 kills and served up three aces for the 'Cats. Maddie Dahl recorded 12 kills, 17 digs and three aces for RC, while McKenzie Burch totaled 37 assists, 12 digs and four kills.
Vaught came out firing in the opener, notching six kills in what turned out be the closest set of the afternoon. The senior's sixth kill of the frame gave the Wildcats a 23-19 lead, and -- after two kills from Reasor and a block from Reasor and Katy Hoover pulled the Blue Demons to within 23-22 -- the teams traded errors before Dahl finished off the frame with a kill.
RC had the upper hand for most of the second set, jumping out to a 16-8 lead on back-to-back kills from Sophia Perlozzo. Christiansburg rallied to within 17-14 on consecutive blocks from Williams and Shepherd, but a 5-0 Wildcat run pushed the margin to 23-15 and put the set out of reach. Perlozzo and Dahl each had four kills in the stanza, and Vaught notched three more.
But the Blue Demons quickly turned the tables in the third set, surging to an early 9-3 advantage and never letting the 'Cats get any closer than four points the rest of the way. Shepherd was at the center of the offensive onslaught from Christiansburg, collecting five kills and five assists in the frame.
The fourth set brought more of the same, despite a better start from RC. The Wildcats led 9-8 on an ace from Burch, but the Blue Demons countered with a 5-1 spurt to go in front for good at 13-10. Leading 18-14 later in the stanza, Christiansburg used another 5-1 stretch to gain separation, and a Shepherd ace would level the match at 2-2.
The Blue Demons' momentum carried over into the decider, with a block and a kill from Williams on consecutive points giving the visitors a 9-3 lead. The Wildcats came roaring back with a 5-0 run, pulling to within one (9-8) on a Nala Shearer ace and a Vaught kill, but Christiansburg countered by winning six of the final seven points to secure the comeback win.
Perlozzo finished with 10 kills for the 'Cats. Shearer paced the RC defense with 20 digs, and Rebekah Allen notched 10 digs.
Blythe Akers posted 10 kills for the Blue Demons. Blair Self tallied 16 assists and 13 digs, and Reese Hall collected 20 digs and eight assists.
The loss snapped a 23-game winning streak for the Wildcats. RC's only other defeat of the season was a 2-1 setback to Liberty Christian Academy in a tournament at Fluvanna County back on Aug. 26. The 'Cats claimed the Region 3C championship -- their first regional title since 2018 -- and returned to the state quarterfinals for the third time in school history.
