By Duncan Nixon
Correspondent
The Fluvanna High volleyball team under the guidance of Coach Christi Harlowe-Garrett defeated the Warriors from Western Albemarle on Sept. 27 by three games to one. The Flucos are now 12-2 on the season. Western was a strong opponent. They came in with 12 wins under their belt. The Warriors were the first team to win a game from the Flucos in the past eight matches. The Flucos won their prior seven matches three games to none.
Fluvanna High School has consistently had success in volleyball and has sent a number of players on to college programs. However, it probably has never had a team as well rounded as the current squad. A small signal of this was shown in the Flucos excellent performance on serve. A serve into the net is a gift of a point to the opposing team. The Warriors had a few net serves, several at crucial times. The Flucos serves were consistently in with few, if any, net serves.
In this match, the Flucos started the opening game slowly, leading only 9-8 at one point. With senior Brooke Napier on serve, the Flucos won four points in a row to take a 16-9 lead. From that point on the teams traded points and the Flucos won 25-17. Freshman Molly McCall recorded several strong kill shots for the Flucos.
In the second game, seniors Kayla Gentry and Shelby Crawford had kill shots early and Napier again put the Flucos well ahead at 19-11, with four straight service points. Unfortunately, as Coach Harlowe-Garrett described it, the Flucos “kind of lost their focus” briefly. The Warriors put together a ten-point run to finish the game 25-22 in their favor.
In the third game, with Gentry making kill shots, and junior Camryn Birckhead serving well, the Flucos quickly built a 21-12 lead. Western called time-out to try to regroup, but it was to no avail as the Flucos coasted to a 25-12 win.
In the fourth game, the Warriors had their backs to the wall, but the Flucos did not let them get away. Senior Faith Shields had several good serves as the Flucos jumped to a 15-6 lead. The Warriors staged a mini-comeback to close the margin to three points at 20-17. The Flucos called time-out. Shields served an ace for a Fluco lead of 23-17. A kill shot by junior Isabelle Garrett put the Flucos ahead 24-19 and a kill by McCall ended the game 25-20.
The Flucos posted some strong statistics showing how well spread their talent is. Gentry led in kill shots with seven. Shields, Garrett and McCall all had six kill shots, while Crawford had five. Birckhead served four aces. Sophomore libera Jillian Davis had 20 digs.
The Fluco volleyball team played at Charlottesville on Sept. 29. They will host Albemarle High on Oct. 4 and Louisa County on Oct. 6. They will then travel to Goochland County and Monticello High on Oct. 11 and 13.
