It couldn’t have been more of a reversal from the feeling Western Albemarle’s volleyball team experienced a year ago. It was a complete 180.
“The first thing we said after we got done with our huddle was this is so much better of a feeling than last year,” said Western hitter Katie Rossberg. “It’s so much more gratifying to feel like your hard work has actually come to something instead rather than have it clunk out when you know you could’ve gone on.”
Three-hundred and sixty-four days ago, Freedom High ended the 2010 edition of Western Albemarle’s season with a five-game victory marked by flat play from the Warriors.
Tuesday night, Western played inspired, efficient volleyball and swept Heritage High, the Dulles District runner-up, 3-0 to win in the Region II, Division 3 quarterfinals. The victory puts the Warriors one win away from a state tournament berth.
It didn’t start out that smooth though as Heritage leapt out to a 9-1 lead in the first game and appeared set to control the proceedings with setter and Dulles player of the year Stephanie Yokoyama running the show. A 5-0 spurt got Western back in the game, but Heritage ran back out to a 17-10 advantage just before Western ripped off nine straight points during a Marin Crowder service run. Rossberg had two kills during the crucial run and finished with 11 on the night to lead a balanced Western attack.
“She definitely took it to the next level,” said Western coach Jena McFaddin. “She was looking at the block and hitting it off of them — she really was paying attention and picking her shots up in the air. That’s something I haven’t seen from her in the past.”
A 5-1 run closed the first game out for the Warriors at 25-20. That momentum carries into the second game as Western built a 13-5 lead with Rossberg, Devon Via and Maggie Kooken burying nearly every set that came their way. Kooken was particularly savvy with where she hit the ball.
“We’d practiced so hard yesterday with her shots,” Rossberg said. “We knew (Heritage) had a single block and she especially did a great job of placing her shots and working around the block.”
Heritage eventually rallied and made a run at stealing the second game, cutting the lead to 21-18, but Rossberg finished off the game nearly single-handedly, with three kills in the final four points — Via had the other — to close out a 25-19 victory and build a 2-0 match lead. Via, a sophomore who only recently broke into the lineup, continued her incredible emergence finished with 10 kills and four aces on the night while Kooken had eight kills and nine digs.
Western controlled game three’s start again and jumped out to a 16-6 advantage. Heritage rallied, but couldn’t sustain the momentum as the teams traded spurts before Western took a 24-21 lead. A pair of Western errors gave Heritage hope of forcing a game four, but Maggie Kooken tipped the ball over for a match-sealing kill and a 25-23 win.
“We try to get the ball to her as much as we can because she’s consistent,” McFaddin said. “Whether she gets a kill or not, she keeps it in the court.”
Riley Martin dished out 30 assists and came up with 11 digs in the win. Marin Crowder’s 25-dig effort stood out as most of them came on tough plays against a talented group of Heritage hitters that seemed to attack from all angles.
Western moves on to host Potomac Falls in the Region II semifinals Thursday at 7 p.m. with a state tournament berth on the line.
