Photo by Brian Hoffman
The James River girls knew they had their work cut out for them when they traveled to Glenvar for a Region 2C quarterfinal round volleyball match last Thursday. As it turned out, the defending state champion Highlanders had too much juice for the Knights, winning in three sets.
The Knights were hoping to pull off the upset. They had won six of their last eight matches, including an opening round win over Nelson County in the Region 2C tournament. River took that one in three sets, 25-10, 25-12 and 25-15.
Emma Francis led River with nine kills against Nelson. Kaylyn Bryant served up five aces, while Konner Myers had five kills and Ripley Barry, Jadyn Miller and Ava Thacker had four kills each.
Glenvar, undefeated at 20-0, had a first round bye and was the host team for Thursday’s quarterfinal. The Highlanders dominated the first set, 25-5, and went on to win the next two, 25-9 and 25-12.
“We played good defense, but did not generate much offense in this match,” said River coach Davina Copsey. “And, we were down two players who were out sick.”
Mary Hoye had 12 digs for the Knights and Bryant had six. Bella Gilliland, Francis and Bryant all had kills as River finished the season at 9-14.
“Overall, we played a good season with a young team,” said Copsey, who had three seniors, two juniors and five sophomores on the varsity. “I am really proud of how hard these young women worked all season, and how well they were able to come together on the court. I have high hopes for the future of James River volleyball.”