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Perfect Again: Albemarle volleyball wraps undefeated campaign

Photo by Bart Isley

Every single high school volleyball team had a moment over the last year where it seemed like they weren’t going to have a season. That puts a lot of things into perspective, and it makes you cherish things like getting a chance to square off against one of your best friends on a rival team. 

 

That’s why after Albemarle volleyball senior senior Keira Roach’s squad wrapped up a fourth-straight undefeated district season Thursday night against Western Albemarle in a 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-8) sweep that ended the Warriors’ spring 2021 campaign, Roach sought out Western’s Amber Parker and made sure to comfort her best friend, the Western program’s all-time digs leader with more than 1,000 career digs. 

 

“I remember freshman year we both made varsity and it was very rival-like, like ‘I’m going to beat you’,” Roach said. “But now it’s just we’re here playing and if she hits a good dig, I’m like ‘yes, Amber!’ and then she’ll be like ‘Kiera, you got me on that one.’ It’s just a fun, playful relationship.”

 

But make no mistake, Roach and the Patriots were on a mission against the Warriors, intent on ending the district season on a high note after wrapping up the district championship earlier this week against Monticello. 

 

“It means everything, these girls are my best friends and just coming to practice every day and working our butts off means everything, I’m going to remember this team forever,” said Roach who had 19 assists and 18 digs in the win.

 

The district title was first-year head coach Lance Rogers’ 10th Jefferson District championship, with his previous nine coming during his stint with the Warriors that ended 10 years ago. 

 

“It’s always tough to go undefeated and I felt like we were really up against it because of the COVID isolation and then we were forced to play three or four matches a week,” Rogers said. “You sort of have to tweak on the fly.”

 

Maya Winterhoff powered the sweep with 13 kills and two blocks and while the offensive numbers weren’t massive with just 29 kills as a team, it’s clear the Patriots’ have found a rhythm and system on offense that works well for them. They’ll need that flow as they jump into a challenging Region 5D tournament field against one of the Stafford County teams when they host the region semifinals Tuesday. 

 

Franceszca Penaredondo chipped in 12 digs for the Patriots. Juliana Murphy had seven kills for Western and Ellie Boitnott finished with 11 assists.  

 

Western’s young roster continued to struggle to find a rhythm in the loss that ended the prep careers of Parker (who finished with 12 digs on the night) and Arianna Rocco. Those two players were instrumental in helping the Warriors navigate the last year of chaos. 

 

“They were the ralliers behind the scenes through summer, fall and winter in preparation for what was hopefully going to be a spring season,” said Western coach Julie Radlinski. “Their leadership on and off the court and obviously Amber being the defensive player she is and breaking that 1,000-dig record this year, I couldn’t be happier for her and Ari really found herself on the rightside with some big swings and blocks. They’re both huge contributors we’re going to be sorry to see go.”

 

The Patriots will take the floor Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the Region 5D semifinals. 

 

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