Movin' on Up: AHS to face N. Stafford in Commonwealth Tourney

November 1st,
Albemarle can put all the difficulties of the 2011 season behind them.
After Tuesday’s incredible come from behind victory over  2nd place
Colonial Forge on Tuesday, in the last regular season match for both
teams, one had to hope that the team was coming together at the right
time. Thursday, AHS took the second step by beating Massaponax in the
Commonwealth District quarter-finals.

Early on, it looked like the Patriots might be the victims of emotional
and physical fatigue.  The passing corps and servers struggled early on
as Albemarle shanked numerous serve receives and missed a couple of
important first serves.  Despite all of these negatives, the Patriots
continued to battle the Panthers toe to toe before coming up on the
short end of a 25-23 loss in set 1.

During the huddle between sets 1 and 2, the Patriots regrouped and came
back on the court with a look of determination.  Jessica Block started
things off by serving 5 consecutive before Massaponax could get the ball
back.  Once they did, they didn't keep it long as the trio of Sarah
Woods, Savannah Morse, and Chelsea Woodfolk battered the Panthers from
the front row with thunderous attacks.  Colleen Marshall followed up
Block's service run with a 6 point run of her own and the Panthers were
down 12-2 after only two Patriot servers.  The front row continued the
assault on the Panthers and propelled the Patriots to a 25-11 win.

In set 3, both teams came out with a keen awareness of the impact that
this set would have on deciding the match.  Massaponax used a strong
service run to jump out to a 4-0 lead.  The Patriots answered on Jessica
Blocks serve with 4 points of their own, and the gauntlet had been
tossed.  The Patriots fell behind at 11-9, but after a put away by
Woodfolk, Taylor Bauman delivered a 3 point service run to put the
Patriots up 13-11.  Massaponax fought back to tie it up at 14 all, but a
couple of more service points from Block gave the Patriots a 17-14
lead.  Massaponax came back within 1 point at 18-17, but a side out and a
couple of service points by Caroline Porco put Albemarle up 21-17.
 Massaponax, however, would not go quietly, as they came back from a
24-21 deficit to make the score 24-23.  The Patriot front row, however,
made sure they didn't complete the comeback as they tooled the block
immediately off of serve receive to take set 3, 25-23. Tooling the
block, for you non-volleyballers, is when you hit the ball of the
blocker so the ball goes off them and out of bounds. Easier said than
done.

In set 4, the Patriots took an early lead of 6-1 on the strength of
Block and Marshall's serves while Alexus Anderson started repelling the
Panther attack with several stuff blocks.  It looked like a Patriot rout
until the Panthers put together a 4 point service run to climb within 1
at 12-11.  At that point, Jessica Block stepped to the service line and
the Patriots reeled off 6 straight points to push the Patriot lead to
19-11.  At that point, the Panthers began to deflate while the young
guns for the Patriots continued to hammer away.  The Patriots took the
set 25-15 and the match 3-1. With the win, the Patriots move to 13-11 on
the season and have secured a date with North Stafford, who defeated
Stafford Thursday evening. The match will take place at 6:00pm on
Tuesday, November 1st at North Stafford. On the evening, Sarah Woods and
Savannah Morse led attackers with 15 and 14 kills respectively, while
Chelsea Woodfolk put down 10 of her own while also having 3 stuff
blocks.  Jessica Block had a season high 22 service points and 3 aces
while Colleen Marshall collected 13 of her own.  Alexus Anderson led all
blockers with 4 stuff blocks while Block dished out 39 assists.  Taylor
Bauman led all serve receivers with a 2.0 rating while Colleen Marshall
had a 1.94 rating.  Bauman also led all diggers with a 2.29 rating
while Caroline Porco chipped in a 2.15 score.