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Fluvanna drops opening game, rallies for 3-1 win over Madison

Facing Madison County on the road, it took Fluvanna County’s talented senior duo a game to loosen up, but once they were warm, Mandy Kline and Kayla Walker were too much to be stopped as the Flucos moved past the Mountaineers 3-1, dropping the first game 23-25 before reeling off 25-18, 25-14 and 25-16 wins.

“Mandy tore us up on the hitting and Kayla got us on the serves,” said Madison coach Lindsay Von Herbulis. “We just really couldn’t into a rhythm against them, that’s a great team.”

Madison (1-3) took the first game, and was able to roll with the punches for the first halves of the next three games, but once Fluvanna (4-2) went up by five or more points in each of those games, they never relinquished the lead, keeping the Mountaineers on defense for most the match.

“We were putting the ball away,” said Fluvanna coach Christi Harlowe-Garrett. “It makes a big difference when you do that, because (Madison) wasn’t giving us anything. We really had to earn those points.”

Kline led all hitters with 18 kills while Walker contributed six kills of her own to go along with a staggering 12 aces.

“I think it just took us a little bit to get warmed up,” Kline said. “But offensively, I think we’re pretty strong this year.”

Tori Puryear was the top hitter for the Mountaineers, tallying seven kills while also serving up seven aces. Teammate Jordan Aylor had 12 assists and four kills.

Last year Kline and Walker were the two biggest factors for Fluvanna, and while that is certainly still the case, they also have some young talent chipping in with freshman Hannah Miller and sophomore Mia Loyd making significant contributions.

“Hannah Miller and Mia Loyd are definitely our strongest middle players right now,” Walker said.

The Flucos now move into Jefferson District play as they host seven-time defending champion Western Albemarle on Thursday. And while the Fluvanna fans and players may have the first of the two matches against the Warriors circled, Harlowe-Garrett doesn’t want to invest too much into just one game against one opponent this early into the season.

“It’s just another district match,” Harlowe-Garrett said smiling. “We hope to take care of all our district matches.”

The Mountaineers will also begin district play on Thursday when they host Manassas Park, after running through a good chunk of the Jefferson District with two matches against Fluvanna and Orange each and once match against Monroe.

“We made so many adjustments since the last time we played them,” Von Herbulis said. “Our defense was so much better from the last time.”

Having faced so much talent early in the year, Madison is excited about jumping into district play after seeing her team improve in just two weeks of play.

“We’re looking forward to it,” Von Hurbulis said.  “We feel like we’re good enough that we should be right in the thick of things.”

-Ryan Yemen

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