Wildcats Dominate In Season Opener
It might have been the first match of the year, but the Rockbridge County High School volleyball team already looked like it was in midseason form.
Playing a nearly flawless game, the Wildcats rolled past Parry McCluer 3-0 in Lexington last Tuesday in the first of two meetings between the local rivals. The teams will play again in Buena Vista on Monday.
Maisen McKemy notched 25 assists and four different ’Cats registered at least six kills as RC posted a commanding 25-12, 25-12, 25-8 victory. Cesi Beidle led the way with eight kills, followed by Mackenzie McCormick and Emma Johnson with seven apiece and Jada Hamilton with six. Hayley Higgins paced the defensive effort with 20 digs; Hamilton had nine digs, and McKemy and Savannah Whitmer chipped in seven apiece.
The Fighting Blues got two kills apiece from Allie Cullen, Jorja Carlett and Josie Martinez. Cullen also collected a teamhigh 10 digs, and Kadence Zollman notched two blocks and eight digs. Martinez served up two aces, and Catlett had three assists.
Second-year RC head coach Gabe Wagner suggested that several factors led to the Wildcats’ stellar performance.
“It helps to have a setter with as clean of a location as Maisen [McKemy],” Wagner said. “It also helps to have girls who pass as well as we do – and also servers who get out-of-system passes, allowing us to have free balls and to be in system a lot.”
While the Blues didn’t necessarily play poorly, they never found an answer for RC’s combination of effective serving and clean hitting. The Wildcats’ size at the net also bothered PM, which has plenty of athletes but not as much height.
“It’s hard to play against a big team,” PM head coach Jilane Hall said. “We’re very competitive during our practices, but a lot of the Rockbridge girls are a little bit higher than us. … We were doing a lot of things right, but I think all in all we got a little bit overpowered.”
The Wildcats sprinted out to a 9-3 advantage in the opening set, and they widened the gap to 19-7 with a later 7-1 run. McKemy tallied 11 assists in the frame, which featured four kills from Beidle and three from McCormick.
PM jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second stanza behind consecutive blocks from Zollman and a kill from Martinez. But the advantage would prove to be short-lived, as an 8-1 stretch from the ’Cats swiftly turned the set in the home team’s favor.
RC looked even more dominant in the third set, assuming a quick 14-2 lead and never letting the Blues get back in it. The Wildcats’ offensive balance remained on display in the closer, with four different players recording multiple kills in the frame.
On top of their effective hitting, the ’Cats also served up 14 aces in the match: Higgins had four, Hamilton and McCormick each finished with three, and Johnson notched two.
“I thought we served exceptional,” Wagner said. “That’s one of my big beliefs: in volleyball, you have to win the serving/ serve-receive game, and I thought we did that really well.”
Playing a team on the level of the Wildcats early on should only help the Blues, who know that they need to improve on defense and serve-receive.
“That’s huge: just being able to get a ball up, and giving your team the opportunity to continue the play,” Hall said. “We definitely need to work on our servereceive, especially against tough servers.”
But the first-year PM coach still sees plenty of upside for her team.
“We have tons of time to learn and grow and get better,” Hall said. “I’m not disappointed. I know they have the potential to be a whole lot better, so I’m excited for the rest of the season.”
Meanwhile, Wagner credited the Wildcats’ preseason work rate for leading to the high level of execution in the season opener.
“We started this year with a harsher [preseason] schedule,” the RC coach said. “We just came to work. Last year, we did a lot of good things – especially at the end – but we started slowly. The mindset is that we want to start strong as soon as we can.”
The Wildcats were scheduled to start Shenandoah District action at Wilson Memorial last night and will continue district action at Riverheads on Thursday before playing at PM on Monday. All three nights will start with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m. The Wildcats will then play host to district rival Fort Defiance on Tuesday, beginning with JV action at 6 p.m.
