Volleyall: Sweet 16! Stone Bridge Rolls to 16th Straight with Sweep in Regional First Round

By Dan Sousa
VivaLoudoun.com Editor
Ashburn (Nov. 9, 2009) - The Stone Bridge High School volleyball team, playing for the first time since all-district setter Amanda Miller broke her leg in the Liberty District finals last week, rolled to a 16th consecutive victory with a sweep of Lake Braddock in the AAA Northern Region first round.

The Bulldogs 25-11, 25-15, 25-14 victory over the Bruins improved Stone Bridge's season record to 22-2 and set up a likely quarterfinal meeting with Herndon Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in Ashburn. The Bulldogs swept the Hornets on the first day of school but that seems like a different season to SB coach Jill Raschiatore.

"It happened so long ago you can't really say you have played them," said Raschiatore.

With Miller, a junior, sitting on the bench in a cast, junior Vanessa Paige, an outside hitter for SB but a setter on her club team, stepped up and dished out 28 assists in the quick three games.

"Vanessa did a fine job. I'm sure there is a lot of pressure on her but she has played a lot of volleyball. She is used to playing with the girls and she gives us a good block at the net and a nice serve," said Raschiatore.

Junior Christine Beckham had another dominating performance with 11 kills, 15 service points, two aces, and six digs. Senior Libero Lindsay Gill had 11 digs. Freshman Ryan Ackermann had eight kills and four points.

Also for SB: sophomore Alex Heyn registered four kills and two blocks while senior Alexis Chism had two kills, two blocks, and eight service points including two aces. Junior Amy Christensen finished with four kills and eight points, including two aces as well.