Judges edge Wood in volleyball

October 28, 2011
By Kevin Trudgeon
The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER- On paper the match meant nothing.

No matter what happened Thursday night Handley was going to open the Northwestern District Volleyball Tournament with a play-in game against Skyline on Monday and James Wood was going to take on Millbrook in a semifinal matchup on Tuesday.

But you wouldn't have known it by watching the play on the court.

In a back-and-forth affair that mirrored their first meeting in almost every aspect except the final result, the Judges pulled out an emotional 3-2 (18-25, 25-17, 25-17, 22-25, 16-14) win over the Colonels on Senior Night at Maddex-Omps Gymnasium.

"This definitely gives us momentum for next week," said Handley senior libero Megan Strother, who was one of a number of Judges with tears in their eyes after the hard-fought victory.

"We really wanted this because we have a tendency to come out flat and this just shows that we're going to come out strong from now on and give it our all."

Handley (12-6, 3-5 Northwestern) came into the match with only two district wins to its name, both over last-place Skyline, but showed the kind of talent that helped it go 9-1 in their non-district schedule. After dropping the first game, the Judges never trailed in game two, getting a quick three kills from outside hitter Dierdre Carter (match-high 16 kills) and cruising to a 25-17 win that was capped by a kill from outside hitter Alex Bazdar into the back-right corner.

James Wood (14-6, 5-3) battled back in the third game, rallying from a 15-11 deficit to take a one-point lead at 17-16 on an ace from senior opposite Eleanor Kent (10 kills, six aces).

But Kent's next serve found the net and the Judges took advantage, closing out the game on a 9-0 run to go up 2-1 in the match.

"It's kind of what we practice every day, every ball is a new point and you just have to put the last one behind you because volleyball is such a quick, fast-paced game, you just have to try and get the momentum back," said Handley coach Lindsay Hazelette about her team's quick recovery after losing the first game.

It was the Colonels who seized the momentum in game four, turning a 21-21 tie into a 25-22 win thanks to two kills from junior middle blocker Erica Hepner and a Handley service error, but they could not overcome their own serving problems in the fifth game.

Despite holding leads of 8-5 and 12-10, James Wood's four service errors in game five loomed large and the Judges took advantage when Bazdar rolled a kill down the left side to clinch the match.

"We missed 17 total [serves], we almost gave them a whole game in service errors," said James Wood coach Jill Lester. "You can't win them all, but we've got some kids that are hurt.

"Katie Houser is done for the season, she was a player who was in the top five in the district in kills and she's out with a broken finger. We had a lot of fresh faces out there, we didn't go with what we typically go with. So with that being said, I thought the girls showed a lot of heart and intensity."

The absence of Houser was evident in the offensive attack for the Colonels much in the same way the presence of Carter played a huge role for the Judges.

After missing a few matches midway through the season, the hard-hitting outside hitter is back on the court for Handley and is a welcome sight heading into the district tournament.

"It's really comforting [having Carter on the court], it's kind of how you build trust with people and you just know when they're going to perform and when they're going to get the job done," Strother said.

"And she's definitely a person you can count on to almost always get the job done."

Lester said that she wasn't sure which lineup she'll go with when the Colonels take on the Pioneers, who beat Skyline 3-1 to close out their regular season, in their semifinal match on Tuesday, but senior Rachel Rau filled in admirably for Houser and young players like freshman setter Ashley Hillyard have shown they can step up when called upon.

Hazelette, meanwhile, is hoping her team can carry over the momentum from their win into their play-in game against the Hawks.

"This was a big win for us and hopefully it will spark us in the district tournament next week," Hazelette said. "We've already seen everyone twice, so we know what they have to offer and we can use that to our advantage and kind of mix things up and come out as a strong team."

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