Girls Volleyball: Loudoun County Sweeps to a Sixth Straight Region II Title

Sixth Sense! Raiders Make it 6 Region Title in a Row!

By Dan Sousa
VivaLoudoun Editor
Leesburg (Nov. 13, 2011) – An old script played out Saturday night in the girls volleyball Region II finals as Loudoun County swept Western Albemarle for a sixth consecutive regional championship, and it was the fourth time in five years that the Warriors were on the wrong end of the final score.

For Loudoun County (26-1) it was not only a 17th consecutive victory, but the Raiders took another workman-like step towards a record fifth consecutive AA state title. Loudoun County will host Region I runner-up Chancellor Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in a state quarterfinal.

Photos courtesy of Richard Kirby

“Our hard work is starting to pay off, but it gets harder and harder from here,” said Raider senior Libero Gabby Serafin.

While the first set Saturday was back-and-forth until Loudoun County pulled away at the end for a 25-20 win, the second set was all Raiders as they steamrolled Western Albemarle to the tune of 25-11. By the time County finished off the sweep with a 25-20 third set win, there wasn’t a jubilant celebration for the Raiders but only come content smiles of yet another title banner to raise.

“I don’t’ want this to sound the wrong way, but we are just here to get the job done,” said senior right-side hitter Katrina Kirby.

Loudoun County’s lone loss on the year was on Sept. 27 to a Stone Bridge team that captured the AAA Northern Region title on Saturday and was a state runner-up last year. Despite just the one loss, the Raiders tinkered with their line-up after that match and it has been clicking since with the team heading into States having won 25 consecutive sets and 33 of the last 34 played.

“We want our game to be power offense and determined defense,” said Loudoun County coach Jenica Matthias.

The Raiders had a great passing night Saturday and that allowed senior sett Jordan Leiter (4 digs, 3 aces) to smoothly run the offense as she racked up 37 assists in the three sets. Leiter’s luxury is an array of hitters to set including Kirby (10 kills, 5 digs, 4 points, 2 blocks, 1 assist), senior Jenna Strange (9 kills, 16 points, 11 digs, 1 block), sophomore Maggie Phillips (9 kills, 6 digs, 5 points, 3 blocks), junior Taylor Huewe (8 kills, 4 blocks), and junior Megan Fox (6 kills, 7 digs, 5 points, 3 aces, 1 block).

Serafin (14 digs) was strong in the backrow defensively and sophomore Kelsey Slack (4 digs, 3 points) came off the bench to lend support.

The Warriors showed no signs of their bus ride North as they were able to take an 11-7 lead in the first set, but with Phillips back serving the Raiders ran off five straight points. It was a run that Phillips started with a blast off the Warriors backrow. Strange then had back-to-back kills and the Warriors became a little unnerved with back-to-back errors.

The match was tied at 13-13 but County didn’t trail again after Strange started a 3-point run by destroying a perfect feed from Leiter.

At 22-20, the Warriors had the serve but Kirby showed a lightning quick release for a point and then Strange sizzled in a service winner and she finished off the set with a backrow kill.

Strange and Kirby were on fire to start the second set and Fox fired up the crowd with a huge solo block as the Raiders stormed out and took 11 of the first 13 points. County was content to trade points until it was 19-10 and then the Raider finished the set with a flourish, taking seven of the last eight points.

It was true Raider depth as Kirby, Huewe, Phillips and Fox all had big kills. While the Warriors were attacking with a lot of soft shots and dinks, the Raiders were smashing the ball and Huewe in particular had one shot that was nearly lethal off a Warrior defender.
Western Albemarle, which fell to the Raiders in straight sets earlier in the season, threatened to extend the match, taking a 17-15 lead in the third set but County was ready to hoist the title trophy with Strange kick-starting a 4-point run with a towering block. Huewe followed with, not one, but two putaways from the middle block spot – the first looked so good that the Raiders were celebrating the point when the Warriors hustling defense kept things alive and the rally continued with Huewe making good on her second blast.

The Warriors could only managed two tips around the Raider block for points down the stretch and County continued to fire away with Huewe strafing the corner for a nice point and finally it was match point with Phillips doing the honors.

Raiders Run: 6 Straight Region II Girls Volleyball Titles
2011 Loudoun County – Western Albemarle
2010 Loudoun County – Freedom
2009 Loudoun County – Western Albemarle
2008 Loudoun County – Western Albemarle
2007 Loudoun County – Western Albemarle
2006 Loudoun County - Heritage