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Wildcats Overcome Spotswood Before Falling To TA
The Rockbridge County High School volleyball team split a pair of Valley District matches last week, earning a 3-1 home victory over Spotswood last Tuesday before falling at Turner Ashby 3-0 on Thursday.
With the 25-23, 28-26, 21-25, 25-21 win over Spotswood, their fourth in a row, the Wildcats (10-9 overall, 9-4 district) completed a sweep of the regularseason series with the Trailblazers (8-14, 5-8). When the teams met on Sept. 26 at Spotswood, RC won 3-1.
In the rematch, RC trailed 7-3 in the first set before going on a 9-2 run to take a 12-9 lead. Spotswood came back to take a 13-12 lead, and it was a back-andforth battle the rest of the way, but RC’s Jada Hamilton made two kills to allow the Wildcats to take the first set.
The Wildcats trailed 11-7 in the second set before going on another run to mount a comeback. The Blazers had two set points that the Wildcats put away, with kills by Anna Nye and Rebekah Allen, and Nye served up a pair of aces to seal the set for RC, 28-26.
In the third set, Spotswood jumped to a 4-0 lead and extended its advantage to 18-11. The Wildcats cut the deficit to 23-21, but a missed RC serve and a Spotswood block gave the set to the Blazers.
Spotswood again took a 4-0 lead in the fourth set and was up 8-2 before the Wildcats started clawing back, eventually tying it at 13-13. The Blazers led 20-19, but a pair of kills by Hamilton gave RC back the lead and started a 5-0 run. RC missed a serve before Hamilton ended the match with a kill.
RC head coach Gabe Wagner said the key to his team’s comeback in the fourth set was to “keep believing. We weren’t playing to our potential. This team kind of waits a lot to find their spark and to go.”
“The majority of the season, we’ve probably outscored all of our opponents in the last 10 points,” added Wagner. “Even if we lose, we probably outscored them in the last 10 points. They just need to find it in themselves.”
Wagner acknowledged that Spotswood is “a good team. There are a lot of athletes out there. They fought hard.”
Hamilton led the Wildcats with 11 kills and had 10 digs, while Allen led RC with 22 digs and served up four aces. Maisen Mckemy dished out 27 assists to lead the Wildcats and added seven digs and two aces, while Geneva Snyder led RC with five aces and added seven kills. Mackenzie McCormick contributed six kills, while Nye had five kills, five digs and three aces. Adrianna Grue chipped in seven digs, Ava Crocker had six digs, and Emmy Duff recorded four digs and three kills.
Lexi Lind led Spotswood with 11 kills, Ally Howard had 36 assists and four aces, and Claire Weavers added 21 digs and two aces. Also stepping up was Piper Lohr with 10 kills and two blocks.
Reviewing the night, Wagner said it was “a team effort” to get the win.
ABOVE, RC sophomore Anna Nye dives for the ball as senior libero Rebekah Allen (right) gives her space. Nye had five kills, five digs and three aces, while Allen led RC with 22 digs and served up four aces. AT RIGHT, Wildcat junior Maisen Mckemy (30) battles Spotswood’s Lexi Lind (7) at the net while Allen watches. Mckemy led RC with 27 assists and added seven digs and two aces. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photos)
TA 3, RC 0
On Thursday Turner Ashby defeated the Wildcats 25-12, 27-25, 25-22 in Bridgewater.
With the win, the Knights (14-8, 9-4) avenged a 3-2 road loss on Oct. 10 in Lexington.
In the rematch, Snyder and McCormick led RC with eight kills each, and Mc-Cormick added two blocks. Hamilton recorded four kills and 14 digs, while Allen led the Wildcats with 22 digs and served up two aces. Mckemy paced RC with 22 assists and added eight digs and two blocks.
Reviewing the match, Wagner said it was “a tough loss to a good team. As always, we have a lot to work on and plan to learn a lot from this game.”
The Wildcats were scheduled to conclude the regular season at home against Harrisonburg last night.
For the Wildcats’ postseason schedule and updates, visit www.thenews-gazette.com.
RC SOPHOMORE outside hitter Geneva Snyder (6) taps the ball over the net while junior middle hitter Mackenzie McCormick (10) jumps beside her and Spotswood’s Piper Lohr waits on the other side. Snyder recorded seven kills and five aces, while McCormick had six kisll. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
