Coming off a big week where his team not only swept archrival Colonial Forge for the first time in 10 years, but also cruised through a weekend tournament, the last thing that Albemarle coach Mark Ragland wanted to see was his unbeaten team do is take a step in the wrong direction. Thanks to a 3-0 sweep of Orange County, the Patriots kept their unblemished record intact and did so with balance all over the court, 25-13, 25-7, 25-9.
“Right now we’re just kind of on a roll,” Ragland said. “The team’s got great chemistry and they’re working hard. As our front row continues to get better, we get better overall as a team.”
Albemarle raced out to a 4-0 start in the first set, but quickly found itself tied at 5 with the Hornets. A trio of aces from Michaela Malboeuf put the Patriots back out in front and on a 11-3 run to established a comfortable lead before closing out the game.
The Patriots were at their most well-tuned in game two as they rolled out to a 12-2 lead behind the play of Colleen Marshall and Hannah Deal on offense. Orange was never able to find a rhythm in the set to mount a comeback.
“We’ve got almost the exact same team from last year,” Albemalre’s Savannah Morse said. “So we’ve been together for such a long time that we kind of just know each other and how we play.”
In the third set, little changed from the previous one. While Ragland worked in a heavy rotation of players, even shuffling up some of the usual roles for his everyday athletes, Albemarle once again got off to a quick start, this time a 9-0 beginning.
“I think it’s pretty unique that (Coach Ragland) puts people in all over at different positions,” Marshall said. “I had never played the front row before tonight and I had to do well because I knew this was an opportunity.”
With the Patriots front line continuing to dominate and almost every single Albemarle player finding success at the service line, game three ended quickly as well to wrap up the night.
For Albemarle, Alexus Anderson and Morse tied for a team best four kills each. Close behind were Deal and Chelsea Woodfolk with three a piece. Anderson also had three blocks and Setter Jessica Block had 14 assists to go with her 15 service points. Libero Caroline Porco had seven digs and also chipped in nine service points. Maddie Walters helped out in the passing and service games with five assists and seven service points. Marshall had eight service points and a pair of aces.
“It’s a different person stepping up every night of the week which is a nice thing to have,” Ragland said. “If we’re confident, we’re in good shape.”
The Patriots improved to 16-0 for the first time in 12 years. They’ll head to Massaponax on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
“We’re going to keep pushing and stay determined,” Marshall said. “The goal is to get to the state tournament and so we’re going to keep going after that.”
