Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Titans take little time to reach semis
Hidden Valley knocks off Turner Ashby in three games to make the final four for the first time.
Photos by Jeanna Duerscherl | The Roanoke Times
Hidden Valley's Eva Delaney (1) and Jessica Church embrace as the Titans celebrate their state quarterfinal win over Turner Ashby.
Hidden Valley's Rachel Thomas (left) and Sarah Church attempt to stop a kill attempt by Turner Ashby during Game 2 of their Group AA state quarterfinals match at Hidden Valley High School on Tuesday.
varsity.roanoke.com
Timesland on Twitter
During Game 3 of the Group AA quarterfinals at Hidden Valley High School on Tuesday, the Titans' student section was putting an exclamation point at the end of every Hidden Valley kill attempt.
"Boom!"
20-12.
"Boom!"
22-13.
And as fast as you can say "Ka-boom," the Titans had beaten Turner Ashby 25-17, 25-14, 25-14 to advance to the state semifinals in Richmond for the first time.
Although the match was closely contested, Hidden Valley (23-4) made it clear early that it was not going to be stopped in its quest for a state championship. Not on this night.
"We are extremely excited," said Sam Klostermann, who finished with a team-high 14 kills. "We had to win this game to move on, and we're so glad that we get to go to Richmond."
Klostermann did her part by pounding the ball every time Eva Delaney set her up, as did Sarah Church, who added 10 kills.
But it wasn't easy.
Every point, it seemed, was highly contested, with lengthy volleys on many points.
"Well, that's good volleyball," said Delaney, who had 32 assists. "Good volleyball is definitely rallying, so that's what we played tonight."
Those points that seemed to last forever were due in part because the Titans had many successful digs on strong kill attempts by the Knights (24-4).
"Our defense is amazing. We wouldn't beat a team without them. They get everything up," Church said.
She added what she thought worked so well against Turner Ashby.
"I think we talk a lot," she said. "We cheer a lot. ... Everyone's cheering, everyone's rooting for everyone."
Jessica Church had 21 digs for Hidden Valley, and the rest of the team seemed just as efficient at keeping points alive.
"They played great defense tonight. We had lots of balls that we hit harder than we have all season and there was somebody there and they dug it up and they made a play on it," Turner Ashby coach Gina Troyer said. "When you're getting a great hit and the defense makes a play on it, it's really frustrating and I think that maybe got to us a little bit."
The Knights were led by Mara Hogan with 10 kills and Hannah Shickel with 18 digs.
As for the Titans, great defense will go a long way toward advancing in the tournament -- and to get to the final, Hidden Valley will be dealing with a familiar opponent.
Salem defeated Rustburg on Tuesday and will meet Hidden Valley in the semifinals.
The two River Ridge foes will face off at 3 p.m. Friday at the Siegel Center at Virginia Commonwealth University.
