AAA Concorde Volleyball
No. 3 Chantilly Digs Deep to Beat No. 10 Robinson
Chantilly teammates celebrate Joanna Powers (2) scoring a point in the first game at Robinson. The Chargers came back from a two-games-to-one deficit.
(By Tracy A. Woodward -- The Washington Post)
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Friday, October 16, 2009
With her team trailing Robinson two games to one in a critical AAA Concorde District matchup, Chantilly senior Joanna Powers ripped into her fellow players during the changeover. With tears streaming down her cheeks, she pushed her team to battle back and avoid a second straight district defeat.
Behind determined play from throughout the lineup, the No. 3 Chargers stormed back to take the fourth game and force a decisive fifth. But after Chantilly rallied from a 10-4 deficit, Robinson knotted the final game at 15 on Susie Murach's 22nd kill of the night. The Chargers (15-2) dodged two match points and Powers's remarkable dig on another Murach blast led to the game-winner as Chantilly edged its host in a thriller, 25-19, 20-25, 16-25, 25-17, 20-18.
"I told them, 'This is our team, this is our year and we wanted to do this from the beginning. We're not going to lose this one,' " Powers said.
After suffering an upset loss to Westfield last week, the Chargers were determined to get back on track with only three games left before the always competitive Concorde District tournament. Behind strong setting from senior Emily Wright, they led the first game from start to finish. But the Rams -- fresh off a big win against then-No. 5 South County -- came right back to take the second and third games.
But after taking the fourth game to extend the match, the Chargers lost steam at the start of the fifth, and found themselves in another deep hole. Solid defense and effective serving led them back once again and following Powers's dig, senior Samantha Reeves put away the final point to seal the emotional win.
"We needed this," Reeves said. "We needed another big win to get our confidence back and we got it tonight."
The No. 10 Rams (12-5) have three district matches remaining. Following the loss, Coach Jill Pearson had nothing but praise for her team's gutsy effort.
"Now what we know what they have, we know that we can play with them," she said. "This was definitely a confidence booster for the girls, and we know that we'll see them again in the tournament."
Chantilly def. Robinson, 25-19, 20-25, 16-25, 25-17, 20-18 Killer Combo: The Rams' Susie Murach took advantage of many of junior setter Tiffany Connaster's 29 assists, tallying 25 kills on the night. Familiar Foes: Both teams have matches remaining against Oakton and Herndon while the Rams also have Centreville left on the slate.
