In the initial game, the Mustangs got off to a strong start, jumping to a 7-1 lead. Six points is a large deficit in volleyball, but the Flucos remained undaunted. Sophomore Leslie Walters took over serve with the Flucos trailing 7-3. She served for five straight points, including two service aces to put the Flucos into the lead at 8-7. With the score tied at 9-9, sophomore Kylee Dixon took over the serve. Dixon outdid Walters, as she served for nine straight points. Included in this run were two powerful kill shots by senior Hannah Miller. The Monticello coach was forced to take a time-out at this point to attempt to get the Mustangs back on track.
The Flucos run of points was stopped by Monticello, but the Mustangs were unable to generate any run of their own, and the two teams alternated points for the rest of the game. As a result, the Flucos came away with a relatively easy 25-14 win.
The second game of this match was a classic battle. The Mustangs again started strong, scoring the first three points. However, sophomore Maddy Kline put the Flucos on the board with a kill shot to make it 3-1. The score then fluctuated back and forth as the Flucos closed the gap and the Mustangs opened it again, several times. The Flucos trailed 13-9 when junior Emily Haden fired a service ace, but the Flucos continued to trail by 2-3 points, until the Flucos trailed 19-17. At this point, the Flucos had trailed the entire game. The first four games of a high school volleyball match are up to 25, win by two, so the Flucos were in a bind.
Hannah Miller took the serve for the Flucos. Miller is a devastating player at the net, but she can also serve. Miller ran off four straight service points, one on a Walters kill shot, to put the Flucos into the lead 21-19. Monticello fought back and took the lead 23-22. Coach Harlowe called a time-out. Haden scored a kill shot to tie the score at 23-23 The teams alternated points to a tie at 25-25. The Mustangs scored to go ahead, the Flucos tied it and the Mustangs scored again to take the score to 27-26, in favor of Monticello. However, Miller came though with a withering kill shot to tie the score at 27-27. Freshman Kate Stutz took over serve for the Flucos and they managed to score two consecutive points, with the winning point coming on a kill shot by Emily Haden.
In a best of five volleyball match, the first four games (if four are need) are played to 25, win by two. A fifth game, if necessary is played to 15 points. Accordingly, with the Flucos leading two games to none, the Mustangs were in a deep hole. They needed to win three games in a row, against a very strong Fluco team. Nonetheless, they did not give up. The third game of the match was also a battle.
In the third game it was the Flucos who took an early lead. A kill shot by Miller and a service ace by Kline gave the Flucos an 8-5 lead. Freshman Kate Stutz again stepped up. With the score 10 -8 for the Flucos, Stutz took over serve and recorded nine straight points. These points included an ace by Stutz, a kill by Haden and a nice block at the net by Walters. The Flucos pushed the lead to 21-11, but the Mustangs did not quit. They ran off seven straight points to get back in the game at 21-18. The Flucos did not falter, however, as Kline scored on a kill shot and Walters recorded a service ace to make it 23-18. Monticello bounced right back with four consecutive points to make it 23-22. A kill shot by Kline and a successful block at the net by Miller, were enough to end the game with a score of 25-22.
After this win, Coach Harlow reported that her team was 13-5 overall and 4-0 in Jefferson District play. The Flucos host Jefferson District rival Powhatan High School on Thursday Oct.11 and play their final Jefferson District home game on Tuesday Oct. 23 against arch-rival Western Albemarle High School.
