By Duncan Nixon
Correspondent
As volleyball is now played, with a point awarded on every serve, a team with superior talent can often run off a series of points while on service and put a weaker team hopelessly behind early in a game. The Fluco volleyball team under Coach Christi Harlowe-Garrett did just that in its match with the Hornets from Orange County High School on Oct. 13. The outcome was not a surprise, as the Flucos came into the match with a record of 13-2.
Fluvanna won the first game of the best out of three games contest relatively easily by a score of 25-16. The second game of the match was a rout, as Fluvanna held Orange to single figures, winning 25-9.
In the third game, the Hornets were more competitive. The Flucos started with junior Faith Shields serving. They won the first two points on volleys, before Shields served an ace for a 3-0 lead. After the teams traded points, Freshman libero Jillian Davis took the serve with the Flucos leading 5-2. The Flucos won three points to boost their lead to 8-2. Davis then fired an ace for a big 9-2 lead.
Three points in row for the Hornets made it 9-5. However, junior Kayla Gentry won the serve back for the Flucos with a thundering kill shot. The Flucos built their lead to 17-9, and senior Sophia Denby and Junior Shelby Crawford both recorded kill shots to give the Flucos a seeming insurmountable ten-point lead at 19-9. Orange was not done though, as they responded with five straight points to make the score 19-14. The Flucos did not fold and the teams traded points from then on to reach a final score of 25-20.
The statistics for the Flucos were surprisingly well balanced. Denby led in kill shots with 14, but four other Flucos each had six kill shots. That list included Gentry, Crawford, and sophomores Emma Abel and Isabell Garrett. Shields was outstanding in her all-around play as she recorded 31 assists, 9 digs and an impressive seven service aces. Gentry had four aces and a block at the net, while Garrett recorded 10 digs and two aces.
The volleyball season is winding down. The Flucos traveled to Western Albemarle on Oct.19 and are hosting Charlottesville High on Oct. 21. their final regular season match will
