SRnCagNTetwteorsW ins Wildcats Defeat Staunton, Buffalo Gap To Close Season
Ending the season on a high note, the Rockbridge County High School volleyball team earned a pair of Shenandoah District wins, capturing a 3-1 road victory over Staunton on Tuesday of last week before defeating Buffalo Gap 3-0 on Thursday in Lexington.
With the 25-14, 25-21, 25-15 victory over Gap (4-16 overall, 2-14 district), the Wildcats (10-10, 8-8) completed a sweep of the season series with the Bison (4-16, 2-14). When the teams met on Sept. 30 in Swoope, RC won 3-1.
In an up-and-down season that saw the Wildcats deal with several injuries, RC came up just short of advancing to the Region 3C tournament. Last year, the Wildcats snuck into the Region 3C tournament as the 11th seed and upset two opponents, Western Albemarle and East Rockingham, in five-set thrillers before falling to Alleghany 3-1 in the regional semifinals. They finished last season with a record of 12-11, going 9-5 in the Valley District. This year the Wildcats switched to the Shenandoah District, with shorter travel distances.
On Thursday, the Wildcats, who served well and played aggressively against Gap, led comfortably for most of the match and were only challenged seriously in the second set. Gap had a 15-14 lead midway through the set, but the Wildcats pulled ahead with strong net play and capitalized on Bison errors to take the set.
Before the rematch, the Wildcats honored their five seniors: Ava Crocker, Jada Hamilton, Hayley Higgins, Mackenzie McCormick and Maisen McKemy.
Praising the seniors, RC head coach Gabe Wagner said, “They were all starters for us the entirety of the year. Unless there were extenuating circumstances, they were in the game, and they contributed, and they led this team to a pretty decent season.”
All of the seniors started and played key roles in the win over Gap. Hamilton led RC with 10 kills and had 13 digs and three blocks, while Crocker paced the Wildcats with 28 digs. McKemy, who finished her career with more than 1,000 assists, led RC with 23 assists and had three aces.
McCormick paced the Wildcats with five aces and added six kills, five digs and three blocks. As a team, the Wildcats served up 15 aces. Higgins collected 12 digs, and her serving helped the Wildcats take a 5-0 lead in the third set.
Also stepping up for the Wildcats were four juniors: Adrianna Grue with seven digs, Geneva Snyder with four kills, Emmy Duff with three kills, and Cesi Beidle with two aces and two kills.
Bailey Tribble led Gap with nine kills, 13 digs and five aces. Brailyn Green recorded seven digs, and Avery Wheeler contributed 11 digs, nine assists and two aces.
Commending his team’s performance, Wagner said, “We had good service pressure, and we were just a bit more offensive than they were as well. We were able to get more kills and dig more balls than they were. It was good. They played well. I’m proud of them.”
“I’m proud to end on a high note,” added Wagner, concluding his second year as the Wildcats’ head coach.
Wagner noted that the Wildcats had a lot of obstacles to overcome, with key players injured or out sick at various points in the season. One of those was Snyder. After being sidelined with an injury, the outside hitter only got to play the last three matches of the season. “I’m proud to fight through a tough season and finish strong,” said Wagner.
After the match, the RC seniors looked back on their careers and reflected on what it meant for them to go out with a win.
“We really played like a family tonight,” said Hamilton. “We all felt connected, and we all supported each other. Everyone who went in, we all cheered. It was a really fun night.”
Hamilton said that, this season, the Wildcats “had a lot of ups and downs, but I feel like we ended on a strong note.” Looking ahead, Hamilton isn’t sure where she’ll be next year, but she hopes to continue playing volleyball.
McCormick, who has committed to playing Division III volleyball for Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, was happy with the Wildcats’ last match. “I couldn’t have asked for a better ending,” she said. “I think we had our ups and downs, but overall, we played like a family and just bonded really well together and grew together as a family.”
Higgins said she was “very glad that it ended the way that it did. It was kind of a hard season at the beginning, but we pulled it together in the end. It was a good team altogether, and I’m gonna miss them very much.”
McKemy said concluding the season and her career with a win “was really fulfilling. I feel like I’ve worked so hard over the past seven years, starting as a little sixth-grader on the middle school team and then ending the way that this did. I’m just very proud of how we all came together and played for each other, especially the seniors.”
Crocker also looked back on her career fondly and treasured the bond she developed with her teammates. ”I love these girls,” she said. “We’ve been playing together for four or five years, and we’re going to graduate together, and we’ll always be a part of each other’s lives, so this win really means a lot to us. We felt like a family tonight, for sure.”
RC 3, Staunton 1
In their final road game of the season, the Wildcats defeated Staunton 3-1 on Tuesday of last week. The Storm (9-11, 6-10) challenged the Wildcats by taking the third set, but RC finished strong for a 25-17, 25-23, 19-25, 25-19 victory.
RC had won their previous meeting 3-0, when the teams met on Sept. 25 in Lexington.
In the rematch, the Wildcats served up 10 aces. “That’s kind of been our thing all year, serving aggressively and keeping them out of system,” said Wagner.
Staunton’s middle hitter helped the Storm win the third set, but the Wildcats bounced back to win the fourth and final set.
Hamilton led the Wildcats with 14 kills and had 11 digs, four blocks and two aces. McKemy dished out a team-high 29 assists and added five digs and four blocks. Grue paced the Wildcats with 22 digs, while Crocker led RC with four aces and had 19 digs. McCormick led the Wildcats with seven blocks and had 11 kills and five digs. Also stepping up were Emma Johnson with eight kills, Higgins with 12 digs and Beidle with four blocks.
Proud of his team’s performance, Wagner said, “We played well collectively, so it was fun.”
ABOVE, RC senior outside hitter Jada Hamilton spikes the ball over the net while teammates Emmy Duff (12) and Maisen McKemy (3) watch during the Wildcats’ 3-0 win over Buffalo Gap to end the season. Hamilton led the Wildcats with 10 kills and had 13 digs and three blocks. AT LEFT, Wildcat senior middle hitter Mackenzie McCormick leaps to tap the ball over the net while Hamilton (left) watches. McCormick paced the Wildcats with five aces and added six kills, five digs and three blocks. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photos)
RC HEAD coach Gabe Wagner talks to his players during a timeout in their final match of the season. Wagner was concluding his second year as the Wildcats’ head coach. The Wildcats finished 10-10 overall and 8-8 in the Shenandoah District. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
