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Patriots take first ever meeting with Flucos

It’s a perfect fit for both schools. Albemarle and Fluvanna County have been two of the best volleyball programs in the area over the last few years, but the two have yet to cross paths. It just so happened that this season, both schools had one extra opening in their schedules. So for the very first time the Flucos and Patriots took the court against one another with Albemarle making a trip out to the Shoe Box in Palmyra.

“This was a real nice way to open the year for both of us I think,” said Albemarle coach Mark Ragland. “Both of us are in similar positions trying to fill a lot of holes from last year.”

For Fluvanna coach Christi Harlowe-Garrett, the chance to host a team that won the Group AAA championship in 2008 and made a return trip to the state tournament last season was a perfect chance to get her relatively young squad’s feet wet.

“It’s Albemarle, it’s a home game, what more could you want?,” said Harlowe-Garrett who went on to add this was a matchup she’s been eyeing for some time. “For newer coaches like myself, Coach Ragland is kind of like a mentor. We have so much respect for the players and coaches of that program.”

The Flucos were gracious hosts on Monday night, but the season opener for the two wound up going Albemarle’s way as the Patriots were able take the match behind their serve and defense, 3-0, 25-16, 25-22, 25-9.

“With a young team it was to nice to see that we didn’t collapse out there,” Ragland said. “Right now, it feels like we’re having tryouts every day to see who’s going to make up this group. We didn’t block enough balls in the middle and we didn’t hit enough balls in the middle but the defense was pretty strong.”

Megan Napolitano led the way for Albemarle with her hitting upfront and strong serve. The senior had a game high 15 kills and five aces and was at her best when the match was at its closest.

The Patriots took a hard fought first game with a late surge, but found themselves in a significant hole to start the second game as the Flucos jumped out to a 6-0 start. Albemarle fought back to close the gap midway through, but Fluvanna was able to take a 22-21 lead after a kill from Sammi Toy. Napolitano then took over, picking up her 11th kill of the night and following it up with three straight service points including two aces to end the game in her team’s favor.

“Communication was the key,” Napolitano said. “We talked, worked our way through things and then there was a lot of intensity, a lot of focus to help us get through that second game.”

Albemarle’s momentum carried over into the last game, taking a 13-point lead off of a 9-0 run midway through the frame as Fluvanna struggled with errors on defense. The Patriots did not relinquish the lead and finished the night with their strongest game.

For Fluvanna, Hannah Miller stepped up for a team that lost key players Kayla Walker, Mandy Kline and Mia Loyd, notching seven kills. Toy led the way in the passing department with eight assists on the night. There were a handful of communication miscues that plagued the Flucos, but given her team’s inexperience and the nature of opening any season, that’s to be expected according to Harlowe-Garrett.

“We’re still learning how to dance,” Harlowe Garrett said. “We’re young, it’s the first game of the year and against a great opponent, so this is where we expect to be. Now if we’re still making the same mistakes in October, that’s a problem. But right now we’re happy with how we’re coming along.”

One young player that seemed unfazed by her expanded role for the Patriots’ revamped squad was Jessica Block. With the Patriots all-time assists leader Abby Hendrix graduated and watching from the stands, Block set up Napolitano and Stephanie Strauss on a regular basis to finish the game with 24 assists.

“She has that demeanor that you never know what’s going on inside and for a setter that can be a great thing in a lot of ways,” Ragland said. “She ran the offense well. She played in a tough environment and did pretty well.”

Strauss had seven kills to go with seven service points for Albemarle. Collen Marshall also had a solid game, putting together five kills and five service points.

Albemarle (1-0) travels to Western Albemarle on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Fluvanna County (0-1) hosts Spotsylvania tonight at 7 p.m.

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