RC Netters Defeat Staunton, Buffalo Gap
The Rockbridge County High School volleyball team won a pair of 3-1 Shenandoah District home matches last week to even up its record at 6-6 overall and improved to 4-5 in the district. The Wildcats ended the week on a three-match winning streak.
On Tuesday of last week, the Wildcats earned a 23-25, 27-25, 25-13, 25-23 win over Staunton (3-10 overall, 1-7 district).
After dropping the first set, the Wildcats battled through a tough second set and finished strong to put away the Storm.
Geneva Snyder led the Wildcats with 16 kills and 24 digs, while Cesi Beidle pitched in 13 kills and eight digs. Freshman setter Eden Camden added 29 assists and three aces. Adrianna Grue added 20 digs, and Emerson Duff led RC with 4 aces.
RC 3, Gap 1
Fueled by strong serving and defense, the Wildcats earned a 25-19, 25-21, 22-25, 25-17 home win over Buffalo Gap on Thursday night.
With the victory, the Wildcats avenged a 3-0 road loss to Gap (9-5-1, 5-3) from Sept. 1, when the Wildcats were missing several players due to injuries.
In the rematch, Beidle led RC with 19 kills and collected 22 digs. Snyder, one of the players who was out in the previous showdown, stepped up with 15 kills, including one to end the match, 21 digs, three aces and a block. As a team, the Wildcats served up 16 aces.
Grue led the Wildcats with four aces and 23 digs, while Camden dished out a teamhigh 32 assists and had five digs and two aces. Guiding the Wildcats’ defense were Tadara Cooper with a teamhigh six blocks to go along with five kills, and Addy Pennington with four blocks. Also contributing for RC were Braelyn Polly with 12 digs and Duff with three aces.
Bailey Tribble passed the Bison with 18 kills and 18 digs, while Lindsay Lyle added nine kills, and Rachel Baber chipped in five kills. Avery Wheeler dished out 29 assists to lead Gap, while Violet Patterson served up six aces.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first set and stayed ahead the rest of the frame. The Bison took a 4-0 lead in the second set, but RC answered answered with a run of its own to take an 8-7 lead. The set was a back-andforth battle until the Wildcats scored the final six points of the set.
In the third set, the Wildcats led most of the way and were up 19-12 before the Bison went on an 11-3 run to take a 23-22 lead, and Gap finished the set with two kills.
The Bison led early in the fourth set, but the Wildcats pulled away from a 7-7 tie and went up 19-13. Snyder made three kills to help the Wildcats put the match away.
Giving credit to the Bison, RC head coach Graceon Whitesell said, “They definitely battled back the third set and finished out where we lost focus, so a shout-out to them for seeing that we were not focused on our goal and what we needed to do. Definitely, in the fourth set, we turned around and finished and did what we needed to do to win.”
Praising her team’s defense, Whitesell said, “Our back row and front row blocking stepped up and did a great job of handling the things we needed to handle. They did an amazing job picking up the ball, and we really got to see through the net and followed the game plan that we had been doing the whole week. I’m really proud of the girls for their execution.”
The Wildcats were scheduled to play at Wilson Memorial last night and will continue district action at home against Riverheads on Thursday before traveling to face district rival Fort Defiance on Tuesday, starting with junior varsity action at 6 p.m. on both nights.
WILDCAT FRESHMAN setter Eden Camden awaits the ball while teammates observe in anticipation. Camden led RC with 29 assists and had three aces. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
RC JUNIOR hitter Cesi Beidle gets under the ball while teammates Emerson Duff (12) and Geneva Snyder (right, on court) and RC head coach Graceon Whitesell (far right) watch. Beidle recorded 13 kills and eight digs. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
