Riverheads, Gap rally; Draft upsets Central: Playoff volleyball
· Yahoo Sports
GREENVILLE — Riverheads had to battle back from a deficit after dropping the first set, but rallied to beat Altavista 23-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-19 in the opening round of the Region 1B volleyball tournament Nov. 2
Visit fish-roadgame.com for more information.
The second-seeded Gladiators had a lead in the opening set, up 22-19, before No. 7 Altavista scored six of the set's final seven points for the win.
It was a sluggish start for Riverheads, but there was a lot about the game that wasn't routine.
Playing on a Monday is not something coaches love because players are off over the weekend and have to walk back in the gym Monday ready to play. In addition, Riverheads students, like all Augusta County students, were off on Monday for a teacher workday. And, since it's the postseason, there is no junior varsity game before the varsity takes the court. It's all just different than the regular season.
"It's kind of our routine to come out after JV," said Riverheads sophomore Ashlyn Farris. "Especially their momentum after winning or something it always helps us."
A lot of the junior varsity players were still at the game, loudly cheering on the Gladiators. Farris said that support helped.
Riverheads coach Amy Moore wasn't looking for excuses. She pointed out that Altavista had to get on a bus and ride two hours to play and they didn't come out sluggish.
"I don't think we used our home court advantage to the degree that we should have," Moore said. "We did have that ability to be here, not have to travel, all of the things that you want. Clearly we didn't start off very focused and we weren't playing very aggressive Riverheads volleyball."
Things got better. In the second set Riverheads was up 12-11 before going on a 4-0 run. Altavista never got closer than two the rest of that set. In the third set the teams were tied five times before kills by Abi Bennington, Meleah Shirley and Hannah Williams, plus a pair of aces by Ashlyn Farris were part of a 8-0 Riverheads run that opened up the set and put the Gladiators in front 2-1.
The fourth set was even more back-and-fourth early with 10 ties and five lead changes before Riverheads opened up some breathing room with a 4-0 run, capped by a Shirley kill and a Bennington ace. Riverheads led the rest of the way in closing out the match.
"We certainly didn't play to our potential, I don't think," said Moore. "We had some great moments, but we also had some times when we weren't playing very good, sound, fundamental volleyball. We did what we needed to do to get it done."
Farris finished with 12 kills while Shirley had 11 kills, 12 digs and 22 assists in the win. Addy Simmons contributed nine kills and Chesney Dunlap had eight kills, 12 digs and 18 assists for Riverheads. Hattie Croft had 14 digs and Emily Herndon finished with 22 digs.
Riverheads will host No. 3 Luray, a straight-set winner of Smith Mountain Lake, Nov. 5 in the regional semifinals.
Buffalo Gap advances
Buffalo Gap, the top seed in Region 1B, had to climb out of a hole early to beat No. 8 Rappahannock County 20-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-16 Nov. 2.
Bailey Tribble led the Bison with 16 kills, 21 digs and four aces. Avery Wheeler finished with 45 assists and 17 digs while Lindsay Lyle and Violet Patterson both had nine kills for the Bison. Lyle also had four blocks.
Madison Botkin had 10 kills and 16 digs and Rachel Baber added 10 kills and 11 digs in the win. Brailyn Green had 15 digs and Makenzie Wooddell ended the night with 10 digs for the Bison.
Buffalo Gap will host Surry Nov. 5 in the Region 1B semifinals. No. 5 Surry upset No. 4 Appomattox Regional Governor's School in a five-set match.
Stuarts Draft tops Central
Stuarts Draft went on the road and pulled off the upset. The sixth-seeded Cougars beat No. 3 Central Woodstock in the Region 2B tournament opener 25-21, 26-24, 25-23.
Addyson Dameron helped lead Draft to the win with 35 assists and nine dig while Lily May had 12 kills and Kylie Morland provided 11 kills and 10 digs in the win. Lyla Shifflett finished with six kills, four blocks and six digs while Serenity Hamric had five kills and 10 digs for Draft.
Addy Coyner got four assists, four kills and 13 digs while Jaelyn Bain had seven digs and Takota Moore had three blocks and four digs for Stuarts Draft.
The Cougars will hit the road again Nov. 5 to play at No. 2 Madison County in the regional semifinals. Meanwhile, No 1 Fort Defiance, which had an opening round bye, begins playoff action Nov. 5 hosting No. 4 Clarke County.
Patrick Hite is a reporter at The News Leader. Story ideas and tips are always welcome. Connect with Patrick (he/him/his) at [email protected], on Instagram @hitepatrick and on TikTok @patrickfhite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Riverheads, Gap rally; Draft upsets Central: Playoff volleyball