By Duncan Nixon
The Fluvanna County High School varsity volleyball team opened its regular season Aug. 22 with a trip to Buckingham County High.
After traveling to Mills Godwin High School in Henrico on Aug. 27, the Flucos return home to host the Farruggio Tournament on Aug. 29. They will then face Buckingham and Mills Godwin at home on Sept. 1 and 3, respectively.
This is the tempo of high school volleyball: the action is nearly nonstop, making it a great spectator sport.
A point is recorded on every serve. If the serving team wins the point, it serves again. If the receiving team wins the point, it gets to serve. The receiving team has an advantage as it gets the first chance to set up a point-winning kill shot.
A match is played as the best of five sets. The first four sets are played to 25 points. If the teams split those sets, a deciding fifth is played to 15. Every set must be won by at least two points, so evenly matched teams can push a set well beyond its usual endpoint; scores such as 29-27 are not unusual.
Volleyball has a few of the built-in delays found in other sports. There are no free throws, no football huddles, no extended pauses between pitches.
There is no game clock or time limits, so a game between two evenly matched teams can take a long time. A game where one team is decidedly superior can be over rather quickly.
This year, the Flucos are under new coach Aime McCall and are young and enthusiastic, but it is hard to judge in advance what the season will look like.
There are only two seniors on the roster, with four sophomores and juniors and a single freshman. Division 1-caliber outside hitter and kill-shot expert Molly McCall has moved on to VCU in Richmond.
Three veterans that Coach McCall noted as potential stand-outs are senior Allysa Lewis, junior Charlotte Gifford and sophomore Norah Ferrell. Gifford will be a libero, as will junior Grace Davis.
The libero position gives shorter players an opportunity to excel as a defensive specialist and a setter. She is not allowed to block at the net or attempt a kill shot when the ball is entirely above the top of the net. Libero replacements do not count toward the substitution limitations that coaches must follow.
McCall is still not sure who the team will rely on for most of its kill shots, or whether there will even be a dominant player in the role.
The volleyball squad always faces a grueling schedule. In the five weeks from Sept. 15 to Oct. 29. the squad will play fourteen matches, all against Jefferson District opponents.
