Photos by Kymn Davidson-Hamley
The Lord Botetourt volleyball season ended one win shy of a trip to the state championship when the girls dropped a four-set nail biter to the host Blue Demons in Christiansburg Thursday. Botetourt finished the season with a 19-2 final record.
Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, they participate in most likely the toughest region in the state. Defending state champion Hidden Valley and an equally strong Christiansburg team advance to this week’s Region 3D final, then the state tournament.
“We definitely have one of the toughest regions in the state and it makes it that much harder when we know we were good enough to go on in the tournament,” said LB coach Samantha Wilkins. “Our last game was so tight it could have gone either way.”
After polishing off Magna Vista in three sets in the region quarterfinal the Cavaliers had to go to Christiansburg for the semi-final round, with only the winning team clinching a spot in the state. The two had split during the regular season and the Demons edged LB in the point system to qualify for the home site.
Christiansburg opened strong, taking the first set 25-19. Botetourt won the second, 25-20, to even the match and jumped to a lead in the third. However, the Demons rallied to win the third set, 25-23, then won the fourth by the same 25-23 score to win the match.
Alicia Holmes had 16 kills and five blocks to lead LB while Becca Huddleston had nine kills, three blocks and five digs. Erica Gergely had eight kills and 13 digs, Bria Harvey had 29 digs and Blue Ridge District Player of the Year Skylar Morris had 41 assists and 20 digs in her final high school match.
“We had a great season overall, finishing 19-2, and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of girls,” said Wilkins, who was named district Coach of the Year in her first season as head coach.
Christiansburg advanced to the region final against Hidden Valley on Tuesday. The winner of that match gets a spot in the state quarterfinal on Saturday while the loser goes on the road.
