Albemarle is starting to finds its stride again.
Against a tough Mountain View squad, Albemarle recovered after going down by seven in the opening game and down by six in the second to sweep the Wildcats 3-0, winning 27-25, 25-23 and 25-15.
“Tonight was a great test for us,” said Albemarle coach Mark Ragland. “We’ve been slowly trying to put the pieces together, and we got down in both of those games. With all the new faces on the floor, we could have easily folded, but they showed a lot of determination and grit.”
The Patriots (2-1, 2-0 Commonwealth) followed the two rallies with a strong game three, where Megan Napolitano closed out the match with five straight serves — three of them aces — that finished off Mountain View. She finished the night with six totals aces and 10 service points.
Napolitano got some help from Hannah Lawson, who put together 14 kills, two aces and 10 service points of her own and Stephanie Strauss chipped in with six kills and a trio of blocks. As usual, Abby Hendrix keyed the attack, dishing out 26 assists while coming up with four service points. Meg Carpenter also got in on the action with six service points and 12 digs.
While the Commonwealth was essentially a two-horse race last year between Colonial Forge and the Patriots, Mountain View is certainly much improved this season.
“After last year, we knew they had a number of young athletes, so we knew they’d be good if they grew up over the summer,” Ragland said. “They certainly did and they’re going to be a force to be reckoned with in our district.”
Albemarle will try and stay unbeaten in the Commonwealth on a road trip to Massaponax Thursday before serving as the host of the Albemarle Invitational this weekend.
