McKemy Dishes Out 1,000th Career Assist
Avenging last month’s five-set loss, the Rockbridge County High School volleyball team earned a 3-1 home win over Shenandoah District rival Waynesboro on Tuesday of last week in Lexington. The Wildcats were not so fortunate on Thursday, falling 3-0 at Alleghany.
Against Waynesboro (9-10 overall, 7-6 district), the Wildcats (8-9, 6-7) fended off a late rally to secure the 25-18, 22-25, 25-14, 25-22 victory. When the teams met on Sept. 11, Waynesboro defeated the visiting Wildcats 3-2.
RC started slowly in the rematch, trailing 4-0 in the first set, but the Wildcats battled back to take an 8-7 lead and would not trail again in the set.
In the second set, Waynesboro got ahead early and stayed in front with strong serving and net play.
The Wildcats bounced back in the third set, playing aggressively and gradually building up a double-digit lead. RCs Mackenzie McCormick ended the set with a kill.
RC led for nearly the entire fourth set, but the Lady Giants battled back from a 22-17 deficit to cut the Wildcats’ lead to one. After taking a timeout, the Wildcats regrouped and finished off the Little Giants, with a Waynesboro error, a kill from Emma Johnson and an emphatic kill from McCormick to end the match.
The Wildcats had a strong serving game, with 13 aces, led by McCormick with four, Jada Hamilton and Cesi Beidle with three each and Hayley Higgins with two.
RC head coach Gabe Wagner said the Wildcats’ serving and aggressive play were keys to their success and a big difference in the two matches against the Lady Giants this season. “We were able to, for the majority, keep them out of system, keep control of that as well as putting up good blocks, said Wagner. “That was a pretty big difference maker. The last time we played them, we were not as aggressive, not as consistent, basically, in serving, and I thought the big change from last time to tonight was being able to be more aggressive.”
Hamilton and McCormick led RC with 13 kills each, while Beidle had 10 kills and nine digs. Hamilton also had 21 digs. Maisen McKemy dished out 37 assists to lead the Wildcats and recorded 10 digs, while Ava Crocker collected a team-high 26 digs and had an ace. Higgins added nine digs and McCormick had five. Also contributing were Emmy Duff with six kills and Emma Johnson with three.
Wagner said Waynesboro libero Aaliyah Diggs “played pretty awesome,” consistently digging up balls, but the Wildcats had “a great team effort.”
“Maisen [McKemy] set a really nice offense,” said Wagner. “Ava [Crocker] and Hayley [Higgins] played great defense. As a whole, I thought it was pretty darn good all around.”
AHS 3, RC 0
On Thursday, a talented Alleghany team defeated the Wildcats 25-11, 25-21, 25-12 in Covington to sweep the regularseason series. When the teams met on Sept. 16 in Lexington, Alleghany won 3-1.
In the rematch, the Cougars (16-3, 10-2) only faced a challenge from the Wildcats in a close second set. Otherwise, Alleghany, the team that ended the Wildcats’ season in the Region 3C semifinals last year, controlled the match.
“We played a rough game against a good team in Alleghany,” said Wagner.
The bright spot for the Wildcats was McKemy, who dished out her 1,000th career assist. The senior setter led RC with 16 assists. Wagner said the accomplishment was “a special milestone that few athletes accomplish, so I’m proud of her for that.”
McCormick, who had a big moment the next night when she was named RC’s homecoming queen, led RC with nine kills and had one ace on Friday. Beidle recorded four kills and an ace, while Hamilton collected 12 digs but was held to two kills. Other Wildcat leaders were Crocker with seven digs and an ace and Higgins with six digs.
The Wildcats were scheduled to play host to Stuarts Draft last night and will continue district action at Staunton next Tuesday before concluding the regular season at home against Buffalo Gap next Thursday, Oct. 30. Both nights will start with junior varsity action at 6 p.m.
WILDCAT SENIOR middle hitter Mackenzie McCormick gets under the ball while senior teammate Jada Hamilton watches. McCormick and Hamilton led RC with 13 kills each. McCormick also led the Wildcats with four aces, while Hamilton had three. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
RC JUNIOR Emma Johnson spikes the ball while teammates Emmy Duff (12) and Jada Hamilton (1) watch. Johnson recorded three kills. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
