Fittingly, the 2A championship game between Goochland and Marion came down to the final set.
The Bulldogs, who had lost just one game this year, battled back from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Scarlet Hurricanes 3-2 (21-25, 15-25, 25-20, 25-23, 15-10) and capture the program’s first state crown on Saturday afternoon at the Siegel Center in Richmond.
It was an appropriate ending to the season as Goochland achieved an unblemished 27-0 record.
“That was the best match we’ve ever played by far and the best match I’ve ever had to coach,” Goochland coach Jennifer Erixon said. “[That is] a very, very good group of girls that totally fought until the end. We had a perfect season and we wanted to end it on a perfect note.”
Early in the match, it didn’t appear the Bulldogs would get their storybook ending.
Marion’s high-intensity play, especially on the defensive end, translated into wins in the first two sets. The 2A West champions were able to get the Bulldogs consistently out of position and got a boost from the powerful duo of Callee Cox and Caeley Glisan at the net. The middle hitters combined for 22 kills in the game.
Suddenly, Goochland found itself in an unfamiliar spot but they responded.
“I was over on the sideline trying to figure out what to do,” Erixon said. “They had a good conversation and I just told [the seniors] this was their last opportunity and you have to fight with everything you have and you have to anticipate everything the other team’s going to do. If we were going to go down, we were going to go down with a fight. Everything seemed to switch that third match — we just found a spark and ran with it.”
With the third set tied at 10-10, a Madelyn Ott kill gave the Bulldogs a lead it would not relinquish. From there, the team found its rhythm, highlighted by plays from Maddie Parker, who registered several kills just inside the baseline. Parker, a senior, finished with 12 kills and eight digs.
“I think we wanted it more [after falling behind],” Ott said. “We’ve been working for this all season and we weren’t going to go down without a fight. They were really easy to read, and I think we finally picked up on that in the third set.”
Senior Josie Summitt was also able to put the regrouping in perspective.
“The first two games we were really on edge,” Summit explained. “We were very nervous. And we just started to support each other more and we started to relax. That’s when we started playing our game.”
In addition, a lineup switch occurred, as Erixon made the difficult decision to substitute sophomore Kealie Lachniet for Summitt, the team’s assist leader.
“Things just were not working for our offense the first two sets, so I knew a change had to happen,” Erixon said. “I took a major chance.”
The gamble paid off and Goochland carried that confidence into the fourth set, jumping to a 7-3 advantage.
Ott, the Region 2A East player of the year, came on strong, making play after play to keep her team alive. The 6-0 senior, who is headed to Georgia State to play volleyball, recorded a game-high 19 kills in the win.
In the fourth set, Marion rallied from a five-point deficit (22-17) to tie it before Ott’s emphatic kill to give the Bulldogs the edge and eventually the victory.
“They were pretty scrappy today, and I don’t think our defense was at the best that it has been this season. We got scared and a little nervous and we kept thinking about the what ifs instead of the here and now and playing in the moment, so I think that was a big problem for us,” Marion coach Amanda Hanshew said. “There were a couple of times where we weren’t in position, there were a couple of times at the net we were late on the blocks, so I felt like we could have done a little bit more defensively.”
Goochland, as it has done all season, took control in the final set, as it broke to a 7-2 lead. Again, Ott led the way, while the Bulldogs also got a boost from Parker and Alexis Wiggins in the middle. Marion came as close as two points (12-10) before Goochland rolled to the thrilling finish.
Not to be overlooked was Goochland defensive specialist Casey Spencer was all over the floor and managed to keep up with the hard-hitting Cox and Glisan. The Bulldogs’ libero finished with a game-high 26 digs as Goochland edged the Hurricanes in that category, 107-91.
“I never stopped moving,” said Spencer, who had the bruises to show for her scrappy play. “I just watched the ball and followed it everywhere it would go. I eventually figured out where they were hitting it and where they were going to put it.”
Lachniet finished with 29 assists and 15 digs, while Maddie Goff recorded 26 digs to go along with six aces. Summitt tallied 15 assists and 11 digs and Wiggins registered 11 kills and three blocks.
The Bulldogs learned it is not always about being perfect — it is about taking the moment and making the most of it.
This group certainly knows how to capture the moment.
“They are truly a special group of girls. I not only got to coach them on the varsity level, but I also was fortunate to coach some of them while they were in middle school as well,” Erixon, in her fifth year as coach at Goochland said. “It’s been an incredible opportunity, and I’m so happy to have been a part of it.”
