With Monticello holding a two point lead late in the second set and already up by a game in the match, Western Albemarle’s back were against the wall against a team they swept twice. With a 6-1 run to close the second game, the Warriors avoided the pitfall of an 0-2 start. And with another truly hard fought victory in the third set and then the best showing of the night coming in the fourth, Western rallied to beat a scrappy Monticello squad 3-1, 17-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-18 in the Conference 29 semifinals to earn a bid in next week’s Region 3A West tournament.
“It means a heckuva to this group with seven seniors on the squad — they put a lot of work into this program and now they are reaping the rewards,” said Warriors coach Ron Pack. “Monticello played great tonight. I thought their passing was the best I’ve seen it this season and their defense was by far the best they’ve had all season. In our two regular season matches, they did not play defense anywhere close to as what they did tonight.”
The first part of the match belonged to the Mustangs and their well-packed student section. Monticello took a 7-3 lead in the first set and used it’s blocking defense up front and it’s solid play from the back line to hold firm, building an 18-10 lead and standing pat from there to win its first set over Western this year.
“I’m really feeling confident with this group,” said Monticello coach Jackie Hargis. “I think we’ve gotten a lot better, that started with Fluvanna last week and then tonight against Western. I was really happy that the team was stepping up, especially this late in the year. It’s exciting to see. It’s at the point where you’re one step away from a ball defensively and our girls are clicking and getting to them. They’re reading and going after it.”
The second set was a battle with the Mustangs starting out up 4-1, but Warriors getting to within a point at 10-9. Following a 5-2 stretch, Western was forced to call a timeout. It slowed the momentum and allowed the Warriors to make a 6-2 run to tie the set up at 17-17. Monticello front line hitters led the way to a 21-19 lead, but against Western exercised a time out to slow things down. The Warriors managed to put together a 6-1 run down the stretch to make it a 25-22 win and notch the game up at 1-1.
“That was a crucial, crucial run for us — we basically stole that set,” Pack said. “That was a big momentum change. We had the momentum and they were down for a little bit. It was a big change because I think at that point, our girls started to feel confident.”
The third set was not much different from the second. The game was deadlocked at 10-10 and 15-15. Western took a three point lead at 16-19 and expanded it to four at 23-19. Monticello got as close at 23-21, but was able to muster together a late run to swipe the set, and the Warriors had a 2-1 lead after the 25-22 victory.
With the offensive game plan ironed out after the success late in the second and throughout the third, Western stuck with Courtney Berry as its primary weapon as Monticello looked to double team Warriors standout Kelsey Grove.
“I’m going to run it to the middle whenever I can, but it depends on the block,” said Western setter Erin Farina. “I see when Courtney or Kelsey are getting a single block. They were camping out on Kelsey because she’s our big hitter.”
So when Monticello heavily shadowed Grove, and they did the majority of the night, the orders came down from Pack.
“I told Erin if they’re going to single block then we’re just going to go to the middle, go to the middle, go to the middle, until there’s an adjustment,” Pack said. “So Courtney had a lot more swings than normal.”
Just like in games two and three, Berry delivered in the fourth. The Warriors started with a 4-1 lead and went up 11-6, then 16-8. Monticello put together one last stand to get the game to 18-14 to force a Western timeout. However, the Warriors would not lose their grip and they closed out the match with the 25-18 win.
“As the game went on, our passing got better and better and allowed us to run in the middle more,” Berry said. “Because they were single blocking me I was just getting a lot more options, opportunities. So I could right, left and the tips were open. It was definitely a good situation for (a middle hitter).”
Berry led Western with her 18 kills on 30 attempts and seven blocks. Grove still managed to force through 13 kills and added seven digs. Olivia Nichols had seven kills and five blocks. Farina finished with 40 assists and nine digs on the night. Hannah Miles led the defense with 10 digs. Cassidy Wilson had four aces.
For Monticello, Zimako Chuks led the offense with 13 kills. Hannah Green had nine kills and five blocks. Mariah Brown had six kills. Moneka Lawson had four blocks. Allie Perez finished with four aces and 31 assists. Amaya Gibson led the defense with 20 digs.
The Mustangs will play again at home on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the consolation game against Spotswood. The winner secures the final Region 3A West berth. Western will face Turner Ashby in the C29 championship game following the winner of the consolation game.
