Volleyball: Super Tuesday! Seven Playoff Matches Tonight Across Loudoun

By Dan Sousa
VivaLoudoun.com Editor
On election day here in Virginia it is only fitting that we talk about "Super Tuesday" as tonight high school volleyball fans have a full ballot of playoff matches to choose from, seven total across six sites!

In AAA action, Stone Bridge High School hosts a Liberty District semifinal doubleheader starting at 5:30 with the top-seeded Bulldogs taking on Fairfax followed by Langley vs. Madison. In the AAA Cedar Run semifinal action, Heritage hosts Battlefield and Loudoun Valley hosts Osbourn, both at 7 p.m. Assuming the top-seeded Vikes win in Purcellville then the showdown in Leesburg between the Pride and Bobcats will be for a Northwest Region bid.

In AA play, there are three quarterfinals Tuesday: No. 2 Broad Run hosts Park View, No. 3 Briar Woods hosts Dominion and No. 4 Freedom hosts Potomac Falls. For the Eagles, the match in South Riding tonight with the Panthers is the school's first ever home volleyball playoff match.

The only Loudoun volleyball team not in action tonight is the Dulles District's top seed, Loudoun County. (read the jump to see how they earned that bye!)


The Raiders earned the bye tonight after a victory Saturday over Broad Run in a special one-game playoff. The victory -- 21-25, 25-13, 25-20, 25-21 -- was the second time in three days the Raiders had come from behind to knock off the Spartans. Both teams finish as Dulles District regular season co-champions.

In Saturday's win, Juliane Hanna probably didn't need to remind the rest of the coaches in the district that she had the credentials to be the Player of the Year but she polished her resume with an incredible finish in game four as Broad Run threatened to send the match into a fifth game.

Hanna, part of four straight district championships with LC as well as three trips to the state finals and back-to-back state titles,

With the fourth game tied at 20-20, Hanna struck for three straight kills and there wasn't much the Spartan block could do about it as LC setter Robin Marsala (45 assists) set up Hanna on the outside and the University of New Mexico recruit got up high enough over the net to dunk a basketball and smashed the ball to the floor for sure points.

To finish the match, after Broad Run, had cut the lead to 23-21, Hanna struck again and then went back and served out the match. She finished with 16 kills, 12 digs, eight points, three aces, and two blocks.

The Raiders also got a big game from senior middle blocker Molly Baldwin, a transfer to LC this season after leaving the Raider program for Notre Dame Academy for two seasons, as she finished with 12 kills, six blocks and five digs. Sophomore Erin Dancy continued her hot week for LC with 12 kills, four blocks and four digs.

Also for the Raiders:  Jenna Strange (6 kills, 3 digs, 1 block), Robin Marsala (5 kills, 11 digs, 5 points), Rachel Arigo (4 kills, 7 digs, 7 points, 1 block), Gabby Serafin (18 digs, 6 points), Kathleen Horvath (16 digs, 11 points, 2 aces), and Hannah Arnold (10 points, 2 digs).

Broad Run started the match at Briar Woods High School strong with junior Emily Sears leading the early attack. Senior Elisa Scudder's kill made it 14-12 and then sophomore Mallory Brickerd had a service winner and ace to put the Spartans up 16-12 and BR would never lose the lead again in the game.

LC fought back to make it 23-21 but junior Melissa Miles had an awesome dig during a long rally that led to a BR point. When LC couldn't get Sears's serve back over it was 25-21 BR.

The Raiders didn't waste any time in coming back as they scored the first four points in the second game behind the serve of junior Arigo. Soon after a Horvath ace it was 8-2 LC and the Spartans would never threatening in the game, falling 25-13 with LC finishing with five straight points, Hanna and Arigo notching the final two kills.

In the pivotal third game of the five-game match, LC jumped up again, this time storming out to a 13-4 lead. While BR started playing better it was too late and the Raiders earned just enough points down the stretch to win 25-20 with Dancy stopping a BR run to finish the game.

For a third straight game, LC went ahead again, not as big as the first two games, but the Raiders had a 16-10 before BR started chipping away. The Spartans got to within 17-15 when the Raiders called time out.

Out of the time out, a LC freeball dropped to end a long rally and then  Horvath floated an ace in to make it 19-15. Scudder got a point back and then Hanna hit one long ... it was the last error she would make as on the next point she put a kill down so quickly that the BR backrow defense didn't even had time to cover from the high-speed shot.

That made it 20-17 and BR showed its heart with three straight points: Sophomore Kate Sims was big at the net followed by a Sears backrow attack and then a Raider error. Hanna, however, then took over the match and added another chapter in her four-year Raider career.