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In a marathon match, the Rockbridge County High School volleyball team battled back from a 2-1 deficit before falling at home 3-2 against Valley District rival East Rockingham on Thursday night in Lexington.
Playing their first five-set match of the season, which lasted more than two hours, the Wildcats (1-6 overall, 0-2 district) won the first set, but ER (9-2, 2-0) took the next two sets and held off a late challenge by RC to earn a 22-25, 25-17, 25-22, 23-25, 15-11 win in a rowdy gym.
Geneva Snyder led the Wildcats with 16 kills and had 12 digs, while Maisen McKemy paced RC with 42 assists and collected 10 digs. Bekah Allen led all players with 34 digs and had a team-high four aces, and Jada Hamilton added 15 kills and 24 digs. Ava Crocker had 21 digs and five kills before having to leave the court with an injury late in the fourth set. Also stepping up for RC were Maceknzie McCormick with six kills and nine digs and Hayley Higgins with seven digs.
Leading the Eagles was the Alliyah McNair, their powerful 6-foot-1-inch setter and right-side hitter, with 31 kills, 25 digs and two aces. Alison Hooke dished out 34 assists and had 15 digs for ER, while teammate Maya Ramirez added nine kills and 15 digs.
The Wildcats will continue district action on Tuesday at Harrisonburg before playing host to William Monroe next Thursday. Both nights will start with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m.
For the full stories on this week’s matches, with photos from RC’s 3-0 home win over Parry McCluer on Monday, please see our Sept. 18 newspaper.
