RC Opens With 3-0 Win Over Blues
Balanced offense and a huge advantage behind the service line propelled Rockbridge County to a 3-0 victory over Parry McCluer in the high school volleyball season opener for both teams in Buena Vista last Tuesday.
Cesi Beidle and Geneva Snyder tallied eight kills apiece to lead the Wildcats to a 25-20, 25-13, 25-9 win. RC also served up 14 aces, getting six from Snyder and four from Adrianna Grue. Allison Licona-Asto had 11 assists, five digs and two aces for the ’Cats, while Grue and Braelyn Polly each totaled seven digs.
Jorja Catlett paced the Fighting Blues with four kills and four assists. Josie Martinez had three kills, while libero Presley Camden notched two aces and anchored the PM defense with a solid performance on the back row. The Blues would fall to 0-2 after a 3-0 home loss to James River on Thursday.
The service line provided the Wildcats with a huge advantage in the opener. RC had twice as many aces versus errors, committing just seven miscues in the game, while the Blues notched five aces with 13 service errors. The two teams’ rookie head coaches both regarded that as one of the decisive factors in Tuesday’s outcome.
“That is something that we focus on in practice: being intentional with where we’re serving it, making sure that we’re putting the ball in the place where they’re not,” RC mentor Graceon Whitesell said.
“We missed a lot of serves,” PM coach Elle Kindred said. “That is one way that we can try to get better and work on. My goal for them is to go back to the service line and not miss any serves. … That’s something that we control.”
RC jumped out to large early leads in all three sets. But after the Wildcats assumed an 18-9 advantage in the opener, the Blues came roaring back to close to within a single point at 2120. PM generated a pair of key blocks during the stretch, getting an assisted block from Catlett and Kimber Hickman and later capitalizing on a solo stuff from Ciara Hamilton.
“I thought the first set was who we are,” Kindred said. “That was good volleyball: everybody was hustling. … We were working together as a team.”
But a pair of Snyder kills helped swing the momentum back in RC’s favor, and the ’Cats closed out the frame with a block from Tadara Cooper and Emerson Duff. Surviving the Blues’ rally seemed to energize the Wildcats on the road.
“Parry McCluer came out and did exactly what they needed to do in that first set, and we were able to handle the pressure,” Whitesell said. “We just kept getting better as the game went on.”
RC maintained control for the rest of the night. The ’Cats secured a 6-1 edge to start out the second frame, and a later 9-2 stretch put them comfortably in front at 18-9. RC then zoomed ahead 9-1 in the third set, getting three early aces from Snyder, and the Wildcats never let PM back into the stanza while closing out the contest.
Emmilyn Kelly notched eight assists for RC, while Duff totaled three kills and a match-high three blocks. Madeline White added three kills, and Beidle also finished with a pair of blocks.
Hamilton had two kills for PM, and Sophia Bouchelle contributed two assists.
The Wildcats are almost always the season-opening foe for the Blues – and, more often than not in recent years, perhaps the toughest opponent that PM will face throughout the fall. Kindred is hoping that her team can benefit from kicking off the campaign against a high-level squad.
“I think we’ve seen things [from RC] that we haven’t seen before. … Seeing the different shots from them – the hits, the hard hits, the tips, the rolls” should only help the Blues.
“I told them, you know, we can only go up from here,” Kindred added. “For that being our first game, I’m hopeful for the year.”
While Tuesday’s victory undoubtedly holds sentimental value for Whitesell – whose stellar on-court career as a middle blocker for RC included Region 3C player of the year honors back in 2018 – the new head coach was quick to deflect the attention to the current crop of Wildcats.
“It’s definitely exciting, but I have to give all the credit to the girls,” Whitesell said. “This is a very special group that I get to coach. There are seven seniors, and they really want to win – so I feel very blessed.”
RC was slated to play host to Turner Ashby on Monday and to visit Buffalo Gap last night. The Wildcats will play host to Wilson Memorial on Thursday before visiting Riverheads on Tuesday and playing host to Fort Defiance on Thursday, Sept. 10, beginning with junior varsity action at 6 p.m. on all three nights. PM’s docket included a match at Amherst County on Monday and at home against Nelson County last night. The Blues will play at James River on Thursday before playing host to Amherst on Tuesday, starting with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m. on both nights.
After next week’s action, the Wildcats and Blues will have a rematch at RC on Monday, Sept. 14, starting with JV action at 5:30 p.m.
RC SENIOR libero Braelyn Polly gets under the ball to collect one of her seven digs. (Ronnie Coffey photo)
WILDCAT SENIOR hitter Geneva Snyder gets a dig while teammates Allison Licona-Asto (left) and Madeline White (17) watch. (Ronnie Coffey photo)
WILDCAT SENIOR hitter Emerson Duff leaps to tap the ball over the net while senior teammate Madeline White jumps beside her and PM’s Maddie Wade (second from right) and Ciara Hamilton (far right) get ready for the return. Duff recorded three kills and three blocks. (Ronnie Coffey photo)
