In a showdown featuring the Jefferson District’s top teams, round one went to Western Albemarle.
The Warriors secured the top spot in the district standings on Tuesday night with a 3-1 win over rival Monticello.
Western got stellar performances from its middle blockers – Ana Asher, Maggie Kooken and Katie Rossberg – as it dispatched the Mustangs to stay unbeaten in district play.
“It was just great volleyball. It was clean, strong, attacking volleyball,” Western Albemarle coach Lance Rogers said. “We controlled the net tonight definitely. Ana’s the sole senior on the team so it’s only fitting she led us in kills. She had a great, smart performance tonight. Maggie Kooken’s only a sophomore and she was very good tonight – that’s the best I’ve ever seen her play.”
Asher finished with 11 kills and three aces, Kooken added nine kills and Katie Rossberg recorded eight kills and four blocks. As a team, the Warriors finished with nine blocks.
The visitors cruised through the first two sets (25-11, 25-16) before Monticello bounced back to win the third. With the game tied at 14-14, the Mustangs took a lead they would not relinquish on a Kate Geldmacher ace. Geldmacher, Brittany Scott and Carla Brooks also provided good net play down the stretch to help Monticello pull away for the 25-21 win. Geldmacher, a senior, paced the team with nine kills.
“Western came in and played really well,” said Monticello coach John Mitchem, whose team fell to 3-1 in the Jefferson and 7-7 overall. “They definitely handed it to us the first two sets. But we were able to turn it around in sets three and four and in set four unfortunately we dug a big hole and couldn’t come out of it.”
Western broke to a 13-5 lead in the fourth set behind solid play up front from Asher, Rossberg and Allie Nicholson. However, Monticello climbed back into it, eventually tying the game at 22-22 with a kill from Scott, who notched seven on the night.
“It’s a friendly rivalry,” Mitchem added. “Everybody knows everybody and we kind of know their tendencies and they know ours, and it’s a matter of who executes the best. And tonight Western did.”
The Warriors (8-1, 4-0) regained the lead, but the Mustangs tied it again before an error gave the visitors the lead for good. Western capped the win with an ace from Kooken.
“Of course the rivalry is huge and the win was really important,” Asher said. “[In the last game we were] just being really efficient in our serves and our hitting. Our setter did a really good job of switching up the sets. We were all really pumped up.”
Western’s Riley Martin dished out a game-high 31 assists to go along with three aces. For Monticello, Mariah Williams finished with 24 assists, Taylor Hopkins had 14 digs and Charlotte Devine finished with seven kills.
Western plays host to William Monroe on Thursday, while Monticello entertains Charlottesville.
