Madison County’s done nothing but coast through the Bull Run District, and little changed in the Mountaineers’ semifinal with Rappahannock as they rolled to a 3-0 win, 25-8, 25-18, 25-19 to set up a potential sweep of the BRD.
“We were really pumped up for this game,” said Madison coach Carol Nowakoski. “We really were and we never let up so that was nice.”
It took a little bit to get going in all three sets, but while the Raiders kept things close in the first 10 points on each occasion, the story was very different the rest of the way. Madison went on a 16-2 run in the first set to lead the way to a 1-0 start at 25-18, as Chandler Gentry, Sheridan Santinga and Cassity Lacy all flourished offensively.
“I think we kept up our energy all night,” said junior setter Logan Coates. “Even if we got down on points we knew everything was okay with our energy. We were looking to pass in the range where we could set every hitter we had. The passing was very good tonight, but even at the times when it wasn’t, the defense and offense made up for it.”
In the second set, Madison turned a 5-4 lead into a 15-9 advantage with that same balance and playing aggressively on offense. The Wildcats found a way to inch to within five points of the lead late in the game, but the Mountaineers endured it and closed strong with three straight points to win 25-18.
In game three, the margin was just one point with Madison ahead at 9-8 before it went on a 9-3 run. The seven point margin and 2-0 lead allowed Nowakoski to work in substitutions as she has much of the year. Those subs closed out the match and their experience all season long in addition to this tournament should bode well for the program both now and in the future.
“We’ve tried to get everyone playing time, not just tonight, and that should be big for us,” Nowakoski said.
Santinga led Madison on offense with nine kills, but also chipped in 11 digs. Gentry also had a great two-way game, going for seven kills and 13 digs. Abby Bowman led the defense with 17 digs. Coates had 15 assists to go with six kills, two aces and nine digs.
Dragons top Wildcats in tight 4-game match
The second seed in the tournament, and with a traveling student section dressed up in Halloween attitire, William Monroe played arguably the longest 4-game match it could have, but found its form in the third set and rallied from behind in the fourth to advance to face fierce rival Madison County in the Bull Run District championship game. The Dragons earned a 3-1 win, 28-30, 25-23, 25-18, 25-23.
“I feel like we didn’t quite ever play our game tonight, but the first game, I’m not sure what it was but the balls were just long or out of bounds,” said Monroe coach Ken Lawson. “We got that straightened out and then we got the passes straightened out to get good sets. So it was exciting, but too close for comfort for me.”
The first set was a back-and-forth affair that set the tone for the rest of the night, and while the Dragons came up short out of the gate, they answered back by holding onto a late lead in game to even up the score 1-1.
“We just started talking more and pulled together as a team,” said junior hitter Kelsey Shifflett.
The Dragons had their best showing of the night in the third set, as they established an early lead and never let Warren County to within more than two points of the lead midway through the game and cruised down the stretch forcing the Wildcats into unforced errors to pave the way to a 2-1 lead.
“We calmed down and once we got our momentum up we were able to keep going,” said Olivia Shifflett.
The fourth set started out even, but Warren put up a stand by taking a 17-10 lead. The Dragons rallied out of a timeout to tie the game at 17, but soon after, found themselves trailing by three in the home stretch. Monroe, which played patiently offense all night, stuck with it and surged back out in front to get the edge and close out the match with a 25-23 win and avoid a fifth and potentially fatal set.
“I don’t like to go to fifth sets,” Lawson said. “Fortunately the lineup (we had coming out of the timeout), it just worked out and everything fell into place. That group rarely makes a serving error and we score a lot of points with them. They did it again tonight.”
On the night. Olivia Shifflett had 11 kills to lead the way offensively. Kaleigh Breeden had 31 assists. Kelsey Shifflett finished with 12 digs as did Arica Brown. Breanna Strother had four aces.
Madison hosts Monroe on Saturday in the championship. The Mountaineers won both regular season meetings between the two.
