SHERANDO WINS IN A SWEEP

November 4, 2011
By Greg Brill
Special to The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER- After she and her Sherando teammates swept Handley in the Northwestern District volleyball semifinal round on Tuesday in three sets, Morgan Sirbaugh stated that the Warriors wanted to gain another sweep in the district final against James Wood.

Some brilliant play by Sirbaugh in a highly-contested third set made that sweep possible and the Warriors, who also gained a district sweep of the individual awards, beat the Colonels 3-0 (25-19, 25-14, 25-22) on Thursday night at Donald H. Shirley Gymnasium.

"I just knew that we were down and I was like 'We're not losing this [set],'" said Sirbaugh, who had six of her 11 kills in the third set. "It means everything. To get the regular season trophy and now this [the tournament trophy], it's just icing on the cake."

Indeed it was the second straight season that Sherando (19-4) won both the Northwestern regular season and tournament titles. The Warriors also defeated the Colonels in last season's district final.

"They wanted to make a statement," Sherando coach Chuck Ashby said. "We battled two tough teams. I mean, Handley gave us a lot and James Wood gave us a lot. But we just wanted to come and show that we had energy and show what we were made of."

Sherando will host a Region II quarterfinal at 7 p.m. on Tuesday against the Monday winner of Kettle Run and the Dulles District's No. 3 seed.

James Wood (15-7) will also make a return appearance in the region tournament and see a familiar opponent, traveling to Fauquier on Tuesday at 7. The Colonels beat the Falcons twice this season, not losing a set in either win.

In the back of her mind, Sirbaugh kept a memory of the last time Sherando played James Wood on the road, a setback in five sets that turned out to be the only match the Warriors dropped against district opponents this season.

"The last time we played them, it was tough to lose here," said Sirbaugh, who was selected the Northwestern District Player of the Year by the district coaches on Wednesday night. "We heard they hadn't lost here the whole season in districts, so we weren't going to let that happen to us again. We were going to pick it up."

So with the Colonels putting up their best fight of the match in the third set, Sirbaugh brought the attacks late when they were needed most.

The two teams forged 11 ties and had six lead changes in the third and each squad showed plenty of determination to keep rallies extended and win exchanges.

A season-ending injury (broken finger) to top-hitter and first-team all-district outside Katie Houser led to a few lineup changes for the Colonels, and James Wood coach Jill Lester found a combination that worked quite well for her in the third set.

The biggest change of impact took place when junior defensive specialist Kelby Jackson (match-high 15 digs) switched out of her blue libero jersey and put on a white top to allow her to play on the front line and provide needed support with attacks.

A first-team all-district selection at libero, Jackson proved she could hit when given sets in the right spots. In the middle of the set, Jackson dropped three kills, the last of the trio giving James Wood its last lead at 18-17.

Jackson would also get the Colonels' final kill, just one exchange before the Warriors clinched the set and match with a Brooke Schneider (11 kills) slam to the back row.

"Our team, we definitely played with heart," Jackson said. "This was the last home [match] for our seniors so we wanted to give them something they could remember. I feel like we worked hard and pushed through it.

"I definitely was excited to get a chance [to play on the attack]. It's always exciting when you get a kill. You get so excited and it definitely motivates the team."

Lester was very pleased with how Jackson and her teammates kept fighting and making things happen. Sophomore McKenzie McNemar also came in off the bench and provided a spark with a pair of aces late in the third set.

"We believe we can battle back from a two-set deficit," Lester said. "We made an adjustment and sent Kelby [Jackson] to the outside. She stepped up. She's got incredible ball control and she can step into any position we need her to."

But when the Warriors needed to keep up with the Colonels' surge, it was Sirbaugh ready to provide whatever was needed.

"Morgan is a very respectable player and she's one of my favorite players to watch in the district," Lester said of the 5-foot-9-inch senior outside. "It was a fun match to watch and I think we bring out the best in each other. For sure, it's a healthy rivalry. They're a good ballclub."

A slow start saw Sirbaugh total just five kills through the first two sets. She did a lot more damage from the service line (three aces) and with blocks (two total) to help the Warriors along until the call came for her to bring more attacks on James Wood in the third set.

The first kill of the third set for Sirbaugh came off the 14th exchange of the set, a spike down the line to tie the set at 7-7, and then she started rolling.

After Jackson delivered for the Colonels for an 18-17 lead, Sirbaugh collected three straight kills to push Sherando ahead for good.

First, Sirbaugh placed a soft hit to the front row that the Colonels could not scramble for. Then she ripped a cross-court kill, followed by another attack down the line for a 20-18 lead.

With James Wood pulling ever closer at 22-20 after Erica Hepner (four total blocks) rejected a Sherando attack, Sirbaugh sprinted up, took a Daphne Morrison (26 assists) set, and sent an unreturnable blast to the middle to leave the Warriors two points from wrapping things up.

"When has Morgan not taken over," Ashby said. "It's fun watching when all of them go. But when Morgan goes, she goes, and there's no stopping her."

The Warriors dominated with their blocking early and were able to pull away for the win in the first set. A lopsided result followed in the second set as Sherando got out to a 9-1 lead and coasted. The Warriors were right on with their attacks, dumping 14 kills with only two attack errors.

The Warriors also limited James Wood's strong service game to four aces in the match.

"I think we can chalk up the loss to the fact that Sherando handled our serving tonight," Lester said. "They passed really well, and we had too many attacking errors [18]."

Tarah Wampler and Rachel Rau each had eight kills to lead James Wood. Emilee Payne added 21 assists.