It’s good to be the king. The Albemarle volleyball team certainly made the most of the top seed it earned by going unbeaten in Commonwealth District play during the regular season on Thursday night. The Patriots jumped out to a quick lead before allowing their bench to play all of game three, and eventually finished off Brooke Point in the district quarterfinals, 3-1, 25-6, 25-10, 24-26, 25-9.
“In that first game we definitely jumped out to a good start and put the ball away,” said Albemarle senior Hannah Lawson.
Lawson was a big part of that as she wound up leading the team with 11 kills. The other big point winner was Abby Hendrix. The senior setter put together an unusual double-double with her standard 21 assists accompanied by a remarkable 15 aces. Juniors Megan Napolitano and Stephanie Strauss combined for nine kills.
The Patriots overwhelmed the Black Hawks in the first two games to the point that Albemarle coach Mark Ragland decided to allow his entire bench to play all of game three.
“Most of the time, when I do put some (of our bench players) in it’s scattered with some of the seniors, Ragland said. “But I said ‘doggone it, you guys are going to hold your own.’ And I was pleased with the way they played.”
With the competition getting more intense with each advancing round, the Patriot starters were happy to their counterparts get some significant playing time.
“It was good to see the sophomores and freshmen out there,” Lawson said. “It might be the last chance that some of them have a chance to play because it’s going to be intense from here on out.”
The Patriots are looking forward to getting back into more contested play and have already gone through some vigorous practices this week to prepare. So far this year Albemarle has been able match the level of play of their toughest opponents, and according to Lawson, it’s been all about their defense and the finer details
“I think early on we weren’t focused enough on our defense or also our passing,” Lawson said. “People didn’t realize how important the blocking and passing was. That’s such a big part of the game and we were more focused on the glory – the hitting. But I think people have realized that you can’t hit if you can’t pass. If you don’t get the ball to the setter then you’re not going to get to hit.”
Well if that was the problem then it isn’t anymore. Albemarle has kept setter Abby Hendrix plenty busy this year and neither she or her hitters have faltered down the stretch. As such, if the Patriots keep winning they’ll get to keep hosting post season games possibly all the way up to the Group AAA tournament. Considering that Albemarle normally spends at least 90 minutes on a bus traveling to their opponents, staying at home is not lost on this team.
“It’s been so nice not to have to travel like we usually do,” Ragland said. “It’s a real nice break.”
Albemarle will play host to either Mountain View or Stafford on Tuesday night at 5 p.m. in the CD semifinals.
