Riverheads takes out Cougars in four games

STUARTS DRAFT — Riverheads got the confidence boost it needed Wednesday night.
After falling to Stuarts Draft in the first game 25-18, the Gladiators won the next three 25-12, 27-25, 27-25 to pick up the non-district win against their larger cross-county rival.
“My girls did awesome,” said first-year Riverheads coach Whitney Dove. “They have done this the whole season. They are scrappy, they stuck with and stayed strong and played like a team. It was awesome. I’m so proud of them.”
The Gladiators led for most of Game 3, but allowed the Cougars to tie the score at 19. Riverheads had the momentum, but a four-point Cougar run including Caroline Campbell’s back-to-back aces, put them behind 23-19. Draft hit the ball out-of-bounds and triggered another wave of Gladiator emotion.
The Red Pride tied the game at 25 on a Jessica Glover kill and then took the 26-25 lead on a Kelley Tuennermann kill. The Gladiators needed one more point to take a 2-1 lead in the match and Tuennermann answered with another kill for the win, setting up the deciding Game 4.
“Draft is a good team, they’ve always been a good team,” Dove said. “They did lose some but they are still good.”
Riverheads started the match off with a Kelsie Floyd ace and quickly rolled out to a 4-1 lead. But, Draft didn’t stay down long. Ariel Christy put up a strong performance behind the service line and Kamron Johnson led the attack at the net to lead Draft to an 8-4 lead.
The Gladiators trailed the Cougars until the 12th point when Christy hit a ball out of play tying the game. Draft again took a three-point lead when Erin Brown hit three straight aces to make the score 18-15, but Riverheads again battled back to tie the score at 18.
Riverheads took a 19-18 lead when Kelley Tuennermann served an ace. The rivals continued to trade the lead until the score was tied at 25.
Floyd served up an ace to give the Gladiators the lead and a Block from Tiffany Flesher secured the match.
With the win over draft in their pocket, the Gladiators (3-1, 0-0 Shenandoah) turn their focus to another Group AA foe, Alleghany on Thursday.
The Shenandoah District season is still weeks away but the tests against Group AA teams like Draft have given the Gladiators the confidence they will need.
“I know Draft went five with Wilson and it proved to my girls that we can hang,” Dove said.
Stuarts Draft (2-2, 1-0 Southern Valley) will also be in action tonight, hosting Spotswood.