At every turn in the Northern Region tournament, Centreville has faced a new hurdle. The Wildcats overcame their latest challenge with a 19-25, 25-17, 25-8, 25-20 victory over streaking Jefferson in the semifinals yesterday in Clifton.
Centreville will face Chantilly, which defeated West Springfield, 25-16, 25-18, 25-20, in the other semifinal. The region final is tomorrow night at 7 at Centreville.
The Wildcats (16-3) advanced by first snapping Langley's 21-match winning streak earlier in the tournament, then halting Jefferson's run last night. The Colonials (6-11) had previously upset perennial powers Robinson and Westfield.
"Jefferson had been on an unbelievable roll, and I think a lot of people underestimated them," said Centreville Coach Ken Moser, whose Wildcats have advanced to the final in every year of the tournament's five-year history, winning it in 2001 and '02. "We might have underestimated them in the first game. But we elevated our game when we needed it most."
After dropping the opener, Centreville won seven of the last eight points of the second game, capped by a kill from senior middle hitter Jenna Jablonski to get even with a 25-17 win. The Wildcats broke open the third game when senior setter Lexie Wood scored 13 consecutive service points -- including five aces -- for a 23-8 lead.
In the fourth game, Ryann Lowery served two aces as Centreville won the last three points to close out the match.
"All season long, we've had a rough time getting started, but we started picking up at the end of the first game," Wood said. "We anticipated that this was going to be a tough fight because Jefferson had been so successful recently."
Chantilly (9-7) is making its first appearance in the championship.
"This is amazing," Chargers senior setter Cassie Herrington said. "We were so pumped. We knew that they were a hard-hitting team, but it was just an off night for them [West Springfield]."
The Chargers took a 15-1 lead in the first game behind the serving of senior Natalie English and the hitting of middle blocker Claire Blevins and outside hitter Shannon Gallagher. In the second game, West Springfield staved off five match points before Chantilly won, 25-18, on a kill by Briana Bishop.
In the final game, West Springfield overcame a nine-point margin to close within 18-16 behind the serving of senior outside hitter Dianne Masse that included three aces. But Chantilly fought back on back-to-back kills from Herrington and Gallagher.
"Chantilly has never gone this far," Gallagher said. " Our passing was the best that we have ever had this season. I think [West Springfield] might have been caught off guard by how strong we got off, and it was an advantage for us."
