The Blue Ridge District volleyball tournament championship is Thursday at the site of the highest remaining seed, and if Lord Botetourt won Tuesday the game will be in Daleville. Botetourt is the No. 1 seed after winning the district regular season championship.
The Cavaliers were scheduled to host fourth seeded Staunton River on Tuesday, while second seeded Franklin County was home to third seeded William Byrd. The two winners play Thursday for the championship at the highest remaining seed.
Botetourt comes into the tournament with a 14-7 record and riding an eight-game winning streak. LB and Franklin County were tied for the district lead prior to last week, but William Byrd upset Franklin County and the Cavaliers won their last two matches. The Cavs dominated William Fleming and Northside, both on the road, to give LB a final district record of 9-1, while Franklin finished 8-2.
Photos by Jim & Regina Devinney
“We have worked hard this year to stay competitive with the new team that we have and are super proud of our girls for fighting and winning the regular season district championship,” said LB coach Samantha Wilkins.
In last week’s win over Fleming, LB won 25-4, 25-7 and 25-11. Gracelynn Clark had 10 kills and Kennedy Fender dished out 32 assists.
On Thursday LB clinched the district with a three-set win at Northside, 25-9, 25-12 and 25-19. Ava Stephens had nine kills and Savanna Johnson had eight.
The Region 3D tournament begins next week but LB’s opening opponent was yet to be determined at press time. The opening game is scheduled for Tuesday.
“We should play Tunstall but location is up in the air and dependent on who wins the Staunton River and Pulaski (make-up) game this week,” said Wilkins. “We are close in points so I am not sure exactly which way it needs to go, but it will determine if we are fourth or fifth in the region.”
