varsity.roanoke.com

BROADWAY, Va. -- The last time Northside made it to the Group AA playoffs, Amy Crawford was a sophomore middle hitter.

Thirteen years later, the Vikings are headed back -- with Crawford as their coach.

The Vikings continued their charmed run through the postseason Thursday, defeating Turner Ashby 25-11, 22-25, 25-11, 25-13 in the Region III semifinals at Broadway High School to secure a bid to the state tournament for the first time since 1994.

"That was our long-term goal for this year," Crawford said. "We've had these little hurdles all season long, and they've just wanted it. Every single one of the girls wanted this game."

Northside (19-5) will meet Brookville (22-2), which defeated Lord Botetourt in four games in the other semifinal, at 7 p.m. Saturday at Liberty High School to decide the region champion and determine home-court advantage in next week's Group AA quarterfinals. The Vikings and Bees met twice in the regular season, with Brookville winning both matches.

Junior middle hitter Samantha Barney had a season-high 31 kills for Northside, including seven in the final game. "I was just so excited," Barney said. "I wanted to go to states so bad. I was pumped for this one."

Senior setter Ashley Masterson had 47 assists for Northside. Molly Deacon posted 21 digs, while 6-foot-3 middle hitter Rachel Fertitta added 17 kills.

"Both of their middles played great," TA coach Gina Troyer said. "We couldn't stop them."

Brookville will make its third straight Group AA appearance after its 25-19, 20-25, 25-19, 25-22 victory over Botetourt (15-10), but the Cavaliers were pleased to have made all four games a struggle.

They focused on slowing Bees middle hitter Brittany Campbell, a 6-foot senior headed to Liberty University for basketball. Campbell finished with 15 kills and 15 digs -- both team highs, but still an off night by her standards.

"We did what we could," said Botetourt middle blocker Nicole Davis, who led her team with six kills. "She's a strong girl. She's a really good hitter, and she had her timing down."

Davis said she was also impressed with the "tricky" nature of Brookville setter Alyssa Kidd, who vexed the Cavaliers by mixing sets with well-placed dumps. As a result, she finished with the second-most kills on the team -- an anomaly for a setter.

"She was dumping so much that the blockers almost had to assume she was another hitter," Brookville coach Athena Aronson said.

"I really couldn't have asked for anything more from her. She just played great."

Kidd finished with 12 kills, nine digs and 27 assists. MacKenzie Tyree had 32 digs, two aces and three kills for Botetourt, while Abby Martin added five kills and Chelsea Guarino four.

Botetourt coach Nikki Johnson said she was thrilled with her team's progress this season, considering she starts two sophomores and a freshman.