Photo by Jim & Regina Devinney
The Lord Botetourt girls were unfortunate enough to be in the same bracket as Hidden Valley for the Region 3D volleyball tournament last week and saw their season come to an end. LB lost to the undefeated Titans in three games in the region semifinal.
The top two teams in the region made this week’s state field, and Hidden Valley was the decided favorite to win Region 3D. However, LB had high hopes as the Cavaliers came into the tournament with a 15-match winning streak. Botetourt made it 16 in a row with a three-set win over Christiansburg in last Tuesday’s quarterfinal, 25-12, 20-25, 25-18, 19-25 and 15-6.
“We had a very exciting match against Christiansburg,” said LB coach Julie Conner. “The girls made adjustments and played very well.”
Becca Huddleston had 19 kills to lead LB along with three aces and a couple blocks. Emma Rice had 12 kills and Nora Spickard contributed nine kills, 12 digs, two blocks and a pair of aces.
Skylar Morris dished out 43 assists in the match to go with 11 digs. Erica Gergely had 12 digs and two aces and Christina Ellis had three kills and two aces.
That set up a big semifinal match with Hidden Valley on Thursday, as the Titans got to host the match with a 28-0 record. The Cavaliers gave it all they had but lost to the host team in three sets, 25-14, 25-21 and 25-14.
Huddleston had seven kills, Rice had six and Spickard had five against Hidden Valley. Morris had 19 assists and Brie Beddingfield had a dozen digs.
With the loss the Cavaliers finished 19-5 on the season and one win away from a trip to the state tournament.
“Our season ended earlier than we had hoped as we fell against a good Hidden Valley team,” said Conner. “I am very proud of this team and all we accomplished this season.”