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Richmond (Nov. 20, 2009) - No regrets.
That was the Loudoun Valley High School volleyball team's mantra heading into Thursday night's VHSL AAA state semifinal match with Central Region champion Mills Godwin.
The Vikings (22-5) had started their 2009 season slowly, dropping three of the their first four matches and were 3-4 at one point, but this senior-led group was about to regret their final year in the green and white and the talented bunch has won 19 of 20, including a hard-fought 25-20, 23-25, 25-21, 26-24 win over the Eagles to move into Saturday's AAA state title match with upstart South County (25-3).
No regrets.
The Vikes were going to leave it all on the court Thursday in an attempt to earn the school's first ever AAA state volleyball title after collecting AA titles in 2001, 2002 and 2004. A win over South County Saturday would make Valley one of only five schools in VHSL history to collect four state titles.
The current group of seniors were still in middle school when Valley last won a state title, just seventh graders, and as well as they have played over the past four years, they would still like to measure up the great LV teams of the past. A win Saturday at 2:30 p.m. will cement that recognition, but either way they have earned their place in Viking history.
So when Godwin, which looked like a deer in the highlights to Loudoun Valley's impeccable rapid-fire, serve-receive game in the first set, started to click and won the second match and was leading the entire way in the pivotal third set and up 20-17, it was the seniors of Valley -- Lindsay Phipps, Kristen Martin, Meredith Bland, Sara Malsch, Morgan Clark and Nicole Bennett -- that refused to let the game slip away and with gritty determination they scored eight of the final nine points to go ahead in the match, 2-1.
That run included: Malsch spinning a kill off the tape and then Martin, the Vikes Libero (defensive specialist who only plays backrow) dropped in a dink from deep and Malsch and Bland, two hitters that teams overlook at their own peril, combined on a big block to tie the set. Bennett, the cool setter who sparked this state title run when the Vikes early in the year went with a 5-1 offense which puts a big part of the offensive pressure on her shoulders, dropped a set into the middle of the Eagle defense. Valley was now ahead for the first time in this set, 21-20. Clark blasted a crosscourt kill and after a Eagle point, Bland connected for a kill and then Bennett wrapped up the comeback, first with a block -- at 5-foot-7, she blocks as well as most 6-footers -- and then to end a gut-wrenching final rally, she shoved a set far into the back corner for the win.
Letting leads get away had been a problem for Mills Godwin all season and the Vikes knew that with some good scouting and so in set four as Mills Godwin again looked poised to send things to a fifth set, the Vikes remained poised, almost confident, despite trailing 21-17.
Martin started the comeback with a kill from the backrow and then Bland, along with Malsch quiet but key components of the Viking offense, registered a kill. And sure enough, there was Malsch with another big kill.
The Eagles scored but with the Godwin defense keying on Clark and Phipps, Bland was again open to kill the ball. After trading points on errors, Malsch time a backrow kill attempt perfectly in the middle and swatted the ball down to tie the set at 23-23. The unflappable Martin then lasered an ace just inside the back line. A long rally kept Godwin in the match at 24-24 but Phipps was ready for her moment and she read another MG backrow attempt and went up and stuffed the ball to the floor.
And as the night started, so it would end ... a great Martin serve left the Eagle offense out of synch and as the ball fell to the floor on Godwin's side ... The Vikes, players on the court, coaching staff and bench, all went up in the air, fists pumped, arms raise, smiles wide as they celebrated the next-to-the-last step in their state title quest.
It was not only the senior celebrating but the key juniors as well such as Taylor Maddox and Brittany Brown, even though Brown could leap into the air as she had her ankle wrapped after twisting it. That injury led to junior Whitney Jenkins, one of those unsung bench players that make great teams great, being on the floor at the end and Jenkins, despite little game action this season, had some very key serves and defensive plays in the win.
No regrets.
The smiles of joy on the bench players, such as freshman Morgan Hammer, junior Ashley Haislip, junior Carey Kirk, sophomore Abby McIntyre and junior Ashley Lohr, told the story that they had no regrets as well. They will not get invited into the postmatch interview room or quoted in the local papers but they pushed the starters and seniors to get to the high point in the season.
No regrets.
For the fans, the parents, the coaching staff ... all the time and support for the team ... all that club volleyball with weekends and summertime devoted to cheap hotels and marathon tournaments ... after the effort Valley gave Thursday night, they had no regrets.
And finally if I personally questioned an up-and-back trip to Richmond in the rain and gridlocked traffic, knowing that playoff football must be covered tonight, and that a return trip to Richmond Saturday for the state title games was a good possibility ... then I certainly had no regrets on the drive back home. It was well worth it. In fact ... I can't wait to do it again tomorrow!
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