Albemarle and Western is always a rivalry. A student from each school could play checkers against one another and bragging rights would be on the line. But when Albemarle has won 52-straight Jefferson District games and more than a few over the Warriors like they have in volleyball, it can take a little edge off of that matchup’s intensity.
The edge is back.
Western Albemarle ended that 52-match win streak and swept Albemarle Thursday night in a stunner that breathed new life into a now potentially thrilling Jefferson District race.
“It feels awesome, our team has worked really hard to just put everything together, and we have so much energy — it was a lot of fun,” said Western sophomore libero Amelia Tomlinson.
In Tomlinson’s first career game versus Albemarle, the young defensive specialist was tasked with limiting the impact reigning Jefferson District player of the year Albemarle Maya Winterhoff, and Tomlinson racked up nine digs and also chipped in two aces in the win. The Warriors also got a ton of offensive help from senior setter Ellie Boitnott who had 17 assists and senior outside hitter Brooke Chavez who had 17 kills and chipped in a trio of digs.
“Obviously beating Albemarle is special because they’re our cross-town rivals, but also because we have so much respect for the program and the leadership at the head of the program,” said Western head coach Julie Radlinski.
Not only did Western stop the losing drought versus Albemarle, but they also keep their perfect start to the year intact, moving to 5-0 in the early going.
On the other side of the net, Maya Winterhoff had 19 kills and CC Smith had 28 assists. At times the Patriots’ defense struggled against the Warriors’ attack, however the offense seemed to hardly miss a step compared to the previous season’s region title-winning team.
“There’s relief in that the pressure is off now, there’s no more streak to blow. This is the best volleyball we’ve played to date,” said Albemarle head coach Lance Rogers.
After falling to 2-4 in this game, for the next couple of weeks Albemarle has a few weeks in which they can rebound and gain confidence going into the latter half of the season.
“I think this really sets us up well for the rest of the season…we really rose to the occasion, and we were beat by a better team tonight. I emphasize tonight though,” said Rogers.
The two squads will lock horns again October 12.
