Cougars only need three

STUARTS DRAFT — It took a wake-up call from junior Ariel Christy to get the Cougars moving in the right direction.

But three games later, Stuarts Draft had finished the first half of the volleyball season unscathed in the Southern Valley as the Cougars shut down Rockbridge County 25-23, 25-22, 25-20.

Draft (7-4, 4-0 Southern Valley) got a much-needed shot in the arm from service specialist Christy as she turned a two-point deficit into a three-point lead to pace the hosts to a 25-23 Game 1 win.

The Cougars had trailed the Wildcats from the first point until Christy hit the line with the score 12-14.  A couple of aces later, Draft was on top, and they held on with help from seniors Lindsey Iseli, Aliya Stevenson and Kamron Johnson. The three combined for eight kills and some nifty defense to stifle a late Rockbridge rally.

Junior setter Erin Brown got off to a rocky start, slamming into the bleachers during a rally on the second point. After catching her breath, she remained in the game and played a huge part in the Cougar victory. Brown passed for 22 assists and had 14 digs. Her key service run in Game 3 sent the Wildcats back to the bus.

“I was real proud of the way they played tonight,” Stuarts Draft coach Kami Meeteer said of her squad.  “They worked real hard and kept playing their game.”

The Cougars also fell behind in the second game until an Iseli kill and a couple of Rockbridge errors knotted the score at 10-10. Stuarts Draft, behind three kills by Stevenson and a couple of points from Johnson, pushed the advantage to 20-13 before another Rockbridge rally fell just short. Stuarts Draft finished off the game with a well-placed Iseli kill to win by three, 25-22.

“We could always use more intensity,” Meeteer said. “Rockbridge has a couple of real good hitters and servers. They gave it right back to us and forced a lot of long rallies.”

Meeteer must have talked about that intensity during the intermission between Games 2 and 3 because the Cougars never trailed in the finale.

Johnson had a great block and consecutive kills in a 4-0 spurt early in the contest while Johnson had consecutive spikes to back up Caroline Campbell’s service that lead the hosts to an 11-7 lead. After two side-outs, Brown stepped to the line and ripped off seven straight — including two aces — and the game was virtually out of reach.

To quash any doubts, Stevenson smashed three kills in the final moments as the Cougars took care of business, 25-20.

“We got some great play from everyone tonight, especially our seniors,” Meeteer said. “Aliya was working hard tonight just like she’s supposed to and I was proud of Erin.  She did a nice job even after she hurt herself.”

At the halfway point of the regular season, Stuarts Draft sits atop the Southern Valley ladder with a bull’s eye on its back.

“I’m real pleased with our progress to this point,” Meeteer said.  “The girls work hard and there will be no improvement unless they continue to work hard. We’re getting contributions from everyone on the team. Hopefully, we can keep improving.”

That doesn’t bode well for the rest of the district. 

Stuarts Draft takes on Broadway on Thursday before a short trip to Waynesboro to resume district play on Tuesday.