Volleyball: Heritage Heartbreak Fills the Air in Leesburg

By Owen Gotimer
Heritage High School student journalist

Leesburg (Nov. 18, 2010) - Tuesday night the stands at Heritage High School were packed, as the Pride's girls volleyball team took on the Wildcats of Deep Run High School in the AAA State Quarterfinal. Unfortunately for Heritage, Deep Run proved to have the upper hand, and the Pride fell in four; 25-18, 25-17, 22-25, 27-25.


After a two and a half hour ride from Glen Allen, Deep Run came out scoring quickly in game one. Up by eight midway through the game, the Wildcats used a different tactic against the excellent digging Pride, scoring the majority of their points in the first, second, and third games with soft touches that dropped in between Heritage’s defense. Not only was the offense tricky for the Pride to solve, but Deep Run was able to dig many of Heritage’s kill attempts for points. Game one went to the Wildcats, 25-18.

In game two, fire still burned in the eyes of the Deep Run starters as they once again got off to an early lead. However, after another shaky start the Pride fought back to tie up the score at 14-14, before eventually dropping game two, 25-17.

Down two games at home for the first time all season, game three was a must win for Heritage. Head coach Carmel Keilty rejuvenated her girls with an inspiring talk in between games. The Pride scored the first point of game three, and looked determined at the beginning of the game. Stumbling near the middle the Pride’s hopes looked to be dwindling. Nevertheless, Heritage fought back strong winning game three, 25-22.

Another must win game was upon the Pride in the fourth, and for the second game in the match Heritage sprung out to an early 11-6 lead. Deep Run rallied, ultimately taking the lead 14-13.

At that point, the Pride looked worn out losing point after point, until the Wildcats led 23-18. As it had happened all season the Pride never gave up, scoring five unanswered points and grabbing the momentum. But, changing to a more conventional offense of hard hitting kills, Deep Run demonstrated their willpower, defeating the Pride 27-25.

Like most of the regular season the Pride were led by senior hitter Lian Bernett (11 kills, 3 assists, 3 points, 1 ace), junior Christina Kamis (10 kills, 1 point), and freshman Madeline Fowler (9 kills, 3 points, 1 ace) on offense and senior Emma LeMaitre (23 digs), junior Stephanie Yokoyama (1 block, 18 digs), and freshman Sydney Busa (2 blocks, 12 digs) on defense.

Analysis:
Heritage compiled an outstanding overall record of 24-3, losing to two teams still competing for the AAA state championship. This lost was tough for the Pride, but each and every girl on the team should be very proud of what they achieved for their teammates, coaches, and school this season.

Game Stats:
Bernett- 11 kills, 1 block, 3 assists, 15 digs, 3 points, 1 ace
Busa- 3 kills, 2 blocks, 12 digs, 5 points, 1 ace
Fowler- 9 kills, 5 digs, 3 points, 1 ace
Hrebenach- 2 kills, 1 block, 2 digs, 3 points, 1 ace
Kamis- 10 kills, 13 digs, 1 point
Le maitre- 1 assist, 23 digs, 8 points, 1 ace
Montanez- 1 dig
Reed- 1 ace
Runyan-3 digs
Yokoyama- 1 block, 4 points, 1 ace, 35 assists, 18 digs