Draft Outlasts Wildcats

Draft Outlasts Wildcats Rockbridge Netters Fall To Cougars In Five Sets

Stuarts Draft outlasted Rockbridge County High School to claim a 3-2 win in a marathon Shenandoah District volleyball match in Lexington on Tuesday of last week.

Lily May had 14 kills to lead the Cougars to a 25-22, 24-26, 25-22, 20-25, 15-8 victory. Kylie Morland notched 13 kills and five aces for Draft (6-12 overall, 4-10 district), and Addy Coyner tallied 12 kills. Addyson Dameron totaled 40 assists, while Serenity Hamric served up five aces.

Cesi Beidle recorded 10 kills and six aces for the Wildcats (8-10, 6-8), but she missed the decisive fifth set after getting injured earlier in the match. Mackenzie McCormick also had 10 kills for RC, while Jada Hamilton had nine kills and Maisen McKemy tallied 32 assists and 11 digs.

Emmy Duff chipped in seven kills and two blocks for the Wildcats, and Emma Johnson also had seven kills. Ava Crocker paced the RC defense with 27 digs, while Hayley Higgins notched 17 digs and Adrianna Grue finished with 11.

Though the ’Cats battled well enough to take the match to five sets, they struggled to maintain their momentum – and their energy – during key portions of the contest.

“We fought hard at times, and we allowed things to go at times,” RC head coach Gabe Wagner said. “Especially the latter half of that match, they played really hard and fought really hard, but things didn’t go our way.”

The Wildcats, who defeated Draft 3-1 on the road in the teams’ first meeting this season on Sept. 18, seemed poised to take an early lead in the rematch. But after a 3-0 mini-run that featured a kill and an ace from Beidle – who had five kills in the opener – put RC ahead 22-19, the Cougars reeled off six unanswered points to steal the set.

The ’Cats responded by clawing back from an 18-12 deficit in the second stanza, going on to save a Draft set point at 24-23 when Johnson ran down a ball from off the court and later ended the rally with a kill. Another finish from Johnson and an ace from Crocker allowed RC to level the match.

The Cougars used another late spurt to reclaim the lead, registering the last four points of the third set for a 25-22 victory. But the Wildcats used a similar stretch late in the fourth, ending the stanza on a 6-2 run to extend the match to five.

Draft held a 7-6 lead midway though the tiebreak set, but a late surge propelled the Cougars to the road victory. The RC offense struggled without Beidle, as the Wildcats committed five attacking errors in the frame – including on the final three points.

“It’s pretty big losing [a player like Beidle] at a crucial time, end of a fifth-set match,” Wagner said.

One bright spot for the Wildcats was the season debut of Geneva Snyder. The junior hitter, who suffered an injury during the preseason, totaled three kills in limited action.

Following last Tuesday’s late show – the varsity match didn’t end until around 10 p.m. – the Wildcats weren’t slated to return to the court for seven days. RC was scheduled to visit Staunton last night, and the ’Cats will return home for their senior night match against Buffalo Gap on Thursday.

Wagner is hoping that his team can recuperate during that span, and he also challenged the Wildcats to take the proper mentality into the last week of the season.

“I think it’s a good thing to have an opportunity to rest,” Wagner said. “At the end of the day, if we don’t have the desire, we’re not going to win. It comes down to that.”

Thursday’s action against Gap will begin with the junior varsity match at 6 p.m. Before the match, the Wildcats will honor their five seniors: Crocker, Hamilton, Higgins, McCormick and McKemy.