A Good Tip Gives Raiders a Win

By Paul Tenorio

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

In the Virginia AA state quarterfinals last night in Leesburg, No. 1 Loudoun County adjusted its defense and continued to rely on its powerful hitters to pull through with a 25-16, 21-25, 25-14, 25-16 victory over Chancellor.

With the win, the Raiders remained undefeated and advanced to the state semifinals for the second straight year.

“We’re very excited because we’ve got unfinished business,” senior Marguerite Hanna said. “It’s our goal, we want a state championship and we’re going to work so hard to get it.”

After winning the first game, Loudoun County (26-0) found itself in trouble early in the second game. It fell behind 7-0 as Chancellor’s Kelli Carneal used her accurate serve to stun the Raiders. Loudoun County Coach Jenica Matthias did not call a timeout; instead, she opted to substitute a player and the Raiders closed to 8-6 before Chancellor once again pulled away. Loudoun County fought back to 22-20 after trailing by six, but the Chargers pulled away to win the game.

In the game, Chancellor used tips to stifle the Raiders’ blocking game, and Matthias told her team they had to adjust.

“I told them not to let another tip hit the floor,” Matthias said. “I said: ‘You dig the tip, that is where you’re digging. They’re not hitting hard here, they’re not hitting hard there, you dig the tip.’ And they had to do it.”

Despite falling in the game, the fact that the Raiders fought back to nearly win the game gave the team momentum, and in the third game they jumped out to a 6-2 lead. Chancellor fought back to tie the score, but serves from Katie Martin helped extend the lead to six and the Raiders never looked back.

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Loudoun County players Marguerite Hanna (3) and Morgan Petkovich (11) join in the celebration with teammate Sara Reilly (16) as they win Game 3. (Richard A. Lipski)

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Loudoun County's Marguerite Hanna spikes the ball past Chancellor players Ema-Lee Gillespie and Kelli Carneal (7). (Richard A. Lipski)

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Loudoun County's Morgan Petkovich (foreground right) blocks the shot of Chancellor's Jasmine Frazier. (Richard A. Lipski)

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In the fourth game, it was more of the same, as the Raiders used the power hitting of Villanova-bound Morgan Petkovich (17 kills, 9 digs, 5 blocks) and Hanna (9 kills, 16 digs, 6 service points) to jump out to an early lead before pulling away to win the game and the match.

“This is the biggest win we had yet,” Petkovich said. “To go through the whole season undefeated and stay that way is just fantastic. And it’s my last home game ever, so to win it is amazing.”

Up Next: Loudoun County will travel to Richmond to play Brookville, which defeated Salem, 25-16, 24-26, 25-23, 25-20, in a state semifinal. The game is Friday at the Siegel Center at 3 p.m.

Helping Hands: Senior Rebecca Dancy led the team with 18 digs and 17 service points, Katie Martin added 23 assists and junior Shaylin O’Connell added 12 kills, 5 blocks and 3 digs.

Extra Points

By Paul Tenorio and Matt Brooks