They’ve been cruising for more than two months. Finally on Tuesday Albemarle’s girls volleyball team faced a do-or-die situation – or in this case stay home – in the Northwest Region quarterfinals. The result? No different from what the Patriots have delivered so many times this season, a 3-0 sweep of visiting Franklin, 25-12, 25-10, 25-17. Now unbeaten Albemarle sits just one win away from earning its first trip back to the Group AAA tournament since 2009. And despite rolling, it was another learning opportunity for this team as they prepare for the gauntlet ahead of them.
“We talked about angles, that we weren’t hitting strong enough angles as we need to get around some of the bigger blocks,” said Albemarle coach Mark Ragland. “The thing about high school players is that they get in their comfort zone and do what they’re comfortable with and you can’t do that against teams with big blockers.”
The Patriots rolled from the get-go playing its best in the first two sets. Albemarle established the first of its three early leads in the first game by going up 7-3 with its bevy of hitters overwhelming the Eagles backline. It didn’t take long for the Patriots to extend that lead and runaway to a 1-0 lead as they went up 17-8 and finished strong at 25-12.
“I don’t think we had to change our play that much, we just told each other we had to stay pumped up,” said Albemarle senior Hannah Deal. “We don’t want to get cocky or anything but we don’t want to be scared so we want to just keep our confidence, stay cool.”
The second set started out 3-0 for Albemarle and quickly turned into an romp with the Patriots continuing to hit at a high percentage and force errors to the point of 18-9. A 7-1 run to finish gave Ragland’s team to a 2-0 advantage.
Albemarle technically had its biggest fight in the third, despite starting out again with at 3-0 and bumping it up to 8-4. Franklin fought back to 10-9, it’s best run of the night. It stayed within one to three points until 17-15. The Patriots closed out strong to seal the match with an 8-2 run to advance in a match that took less than an hour to complete, but know the next round will likely be played at a different level.
“They understand that the competition ramps up as we go for here,” Ragland said.
For the Patriots Chelsea Woodfolk led all hitters with 13 kills and a block. Sarah Woods closed with six kills and an impressive five blocks. Lexi Brown added five kills and two blocks. Savannah Morse chipped in four kills and a block. It was a big night at the service line with Colleen Marshall and Jessica Block each finishing with nine service points. Michaela Malboeuf had eight service points. Block put up 28 assists. Libero Caroline Porco had eight digs.
Albemarle (28-0) will host its NW region semifinal with Broad Run and a state berth on the line at home on Thursday at 7 p.m.
