By Ben Sheridan / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
Western Albemarle and Fluvanna volleyball just couldn’t be more even in the Jefferson District. They had the same district record with three losses each, one to each other, two to Albemarle.
That necessitated a tiebreaker for Region 3C tournament seeding between Western Albemarle and Fluvanna. It was a highly competitive battle, but in the end, it was the Warriors who came out on top 3-1, winning a trio of close games.
“There was a lot of fight on both sides of the net tonight, and I’m just happy that we were able to come away with the win, and we did a lot of things well tonight,” said Western coach Julie Radlinski.
The first set showed the tone of the match, as both teams came out right from the beginning and matched each other step for step. It seemed that neither team could break away from the other, proven by both of them going over the 25 point-mark that usually brings a set victory. But the Warriors found a way to break through, with performances like Sarah Rhea helping as she finished with a double-double of 16 kills and 14 digs. Western eventually took the first set by a score of 29-27.
The second set felt similar to the first, with both teams unable to break away. But as in the set before, it was Western that made the plays down the stretch, taking the set 25-23 over the Flucos, with Annabella Pandelli providing a big boost to her team. Pandelli ended the night with 40 assists while Amber Parker finished with 15 digs.
In the third set, that same competitive tone was in place. But this time, the result changed. The Flucos surged late in the set, with big performances like Khania Brassfield who had five kills and five blocks on the night. McKenzie Moore also had nine kills for the Flucos who showed a lot of toughness, and a gutty performance from Faith Shields who finished with 28 assists after playing sick throughout the match. That toughness helped them avoid the sweep, as Fluvanna took the third set 25-20.
After dropping the third set, the Warriors knew that they had to refocus on the task at hand.
“I told the team to key in with intensity, and with this big match I talked to them about composure, and I wanted them to play with both of them in the fourth set,” Radlinski said.
To start the fourth set, the Flucos had all the momentum, scoring the first five points. The Warriors needed to find that mix of intensity and composure fast.
“We always try to push through and bring the energy, and I think we brought it in the last set,” Pandelli said.
They certainly brought the energy, as the Warriors would overcame the early deficit and win the set 25-19 and take the match, along with a tiebreaker over the Flucos in the Region 3C tournament seeding.
Before that tournament however, the Warriors will host Charlottesville on Wednesday.
“We’re going to try to work on some offensive options on our side of the net, obviously we don’t want to look past Charlottesville and it’s an opportunity for us to prepare for the postseason,” Radlinski said.
On that same night, the Flucos will host Monticello.
