Friday, November 06, 2009
Bruin netters playing together
Blacksburg's seniors have overcome obstacles this season and hoped to earn a post-season bid on Thursday.
Justin Cook | The Roanoke Times
Blacksburg High School's Jackie Greenburg smashes the ball over Salem's Katie Helvey.
| Becca Favret
Special to The Roanoke Times
BLACKSBURG -- The Salem volleyball player rocketed a serve to the middle of the back row Monday night in Blacksburg.
The Bruin defenders, seniors Lauren Cusimano and Kaitlyn Ayares, looked to each other and hesitated before the ball dropped between them for an ace.
They got up from their last-second dives with smiles on their faces, high-fived each other and broke serve on the next point on their way to a first-round victory in the River Ridge District.
The win Monday, followed by a loss Tuesday to Hidden Valley, set the Bruins up for a Thursday night match against rival Christiansburg for the district's third seed.
The winner will earn a berth in next week's VHSL Group AA Region IV playoffs. The loser is finished.
Monday's miscommunication certainly wasn't a highlight of the match (which Blacksburg won 3-0), but it was a reflection of the type of competitors these captains and best friends are.
Cusimano and Ayares, along with fellow senior Katy Kipps, have combined their talents on the court with leadership to lead Blacksburg to a 14-6 record (6-4 in River Ridge).
It hasn't been easy, though.
From suffering injuries to disappointing losses and struggling to maintain team solidarity, the Lady Bruins have seen their fair share of adversity this season.
Trying to find a balance between the dynamic personalities of a dozen high school girls is never an easy task, and the team admits having had difficulty finding cohesion this season.
"We have a lot of different personalities," head coach Angela Marshall said. "We have goofy girls; we have serious girls; we have really studious girls. But it's putting it all together and making it work that's hard."
Helping put it all together has been the three key seniors who understand the importance of team unity.
"We've had some ups and downs," Kipps said. "But by the end of the year we've gotten closer because we know we play better that way."
They've learned to be wary of slippage.
"We are a very mental team," said Ayares. "We get down on ourselves, and we have a hard time coming back when we make mistakes."
Cusimano herself faced one an obstacle when she suffered a stress fracture at the start of the season.
Out of commission for six weeks, she stayed positive and focused, rehabilitating and conditioning off the court. She remained an active member of the team.
"I just feel like if I can help in anyway, that's what I have to do," Cusimano said. "I try to stay positive and upbeat and just get people going and excited."
In addition to leadership skills and charisma, a little talent on the Bruins' squad doesn't hurt.
Marshall also attributes Blacksburg's success to effective offensive weapons in the form of Cusimano and Kipps.
"What's made a difference ... is that we're actually able to run plays and terminate a play. We can finally put the ball away," she said.
The two have dominated the front row all season, with Kipps in the middle and Cusimano on the outside.
Kipps -- as most of her opponents this year would attest -- says the best part of her game is hitting and blocking. Against Salem on Monday, she suffocated the Spartans' offense with five blocks and frustrated the defense with six kills.
Cusimano notched seven kills and eight digs against Salem, but also contributed significantly from behind the service line.
Down 3-8 in Game 2, she rattled off eight straight serves, giving Blacksburg a lead it never relinquished. Blacksburg went on to win convincingly (25-19, 25-19, 25-18).
But winning volleyball matches can't come from just pure talent -- something the Bruins understand all too well.
"I just think once we play together as a team we do so much better," Cusimano said. "It's just a matter of cohesiveness with us. At the beginning of the season we weren't really clicking, but we've put that aside. We're ready for the postseason."
Their togetherness will be put to the test this week.
Following a tough loss against second-seeded Hidden Valley on Tuesday, Blacksburg has its eye on the Region IV tournament.
The Bruins defeated Christiansburg twice already this season.
