By Duncan Nixon
Correspondent
The Fluco volleyball team got off to a good start in the first game of its home match against the Patriots from Albemarle High on Oct. 15. But, it did not last long. The Patriots have been a powerhouse force in volleyball in Central Virginia for many years. This year is no exception. The Flucos kept it close in the opening game, ultimately falling 20-25. The next two games were not close as the Patriots started firing withering kill shot after kill shot. Both games ended 11-25, and the Patriots won the match 0-3.
In the first game, Albemarle served first and the opening point went to the Flucos on a kill shot by sophomore Khania Brassfield. Junior Amy Glowatch served first for the Flucos and two winning points made the score 3-0. Albemarle bounced back to tie the score at 4-4. The game then seesawed back and forth with ties at 8-8, 11-11, 13-13 and 19-19. The Albemarle coach and Fluco Coach Christi Harlow-Garrett both called late time-outs to try to rally their squads. Unfortunately for the Flucos, the Patriots net play was flawless and they scored the last five points of the game for a competitive 25-20 win.
In the second game, freshman Faith Shields served first for the Flucos and the Flucos won the first two points. The Warriors scored on Shields’ third serve to make it 2-1. The Flucos scored on the following Albemarle serve and recorded the fifth point of the game on senior McKenzie Moore’s serve for a 4-1 lead. Unfortunately, from that point on it was all Albemarle. The Patriots quickly tied the score at 4-4, after trading points for a 5-5 score, the Patriots put the game away by running off 12 consecutive points to make the score 5-17. Twelve points is a virtually insurmountable lead in high school volleyball. Although Moore and Brassfield recorded powerful kill shots late in the game, the Flucos were unable to close the gap at all and went down 11-25.
In the third and final game of the match, the Flucos never led. They had 2-2 tie early but the Patriots scored the next point and slowly moved in front. They led 3-9, 6-13, and 8-20. Molli White had a nice kill shot for the Flucos near the end, but the Patriots were victorious again by the score of 11-25.
Sophomore Sophia Denby had a strong game for the Flucos recording 5 kill shots and two service aces. Brassfield also had five kill shots. Shields played a solid match with 18 assists and two service aces.
The Fluco volleyball season is nearly over. On Oct.17 they hosted Louisa County. On Oct. 22, they hosted Orange County. The last match of the regular season will be at Monticello High on Oct. 24.
