Draft hangs on for sweep, earns region berth

STUARTS DRAFT —Stuarts Draft are moving on to the Southern Valley District Tournament championship match.

The Cougars swept Rockbridge in three games 25-10, 33-31, 25-14.

The Cougars proved to be the best team Thursday night as they dominated the Wildcats early. Draft went on a run in Game 1 that set itself up perfectly to take control.

Draft scored the first five points of Game 1 as the Wildcats were unable to match the Cougars. The Cougars used Kamron Johnson and Callie Updike at the net to block and intimidate the Wildcats.

The Cougars went on a roll as they knocked the Wildcats back on their heels and soared to a 25-10 victory.

Game 2 would prove to be the critical game of the match. The Wildcats were determined to tie the match up and the Cougars knew a two-game lead would be huge.

Each team went back and forth exchanging points as neither could get an advantage.

With the score 23-20 in favor of the Wildcats the Cougars made a run to get themselves back in the game. Aliya Stevenson blasted a kill in between two Wildcat defenders and Johnson nailed two aces to tie the match up.

The crowds on both sides sat nervously knowing how important a win in Game 2 would be for both teams.

The Cougars took the lead 25-24 but the Wildcats responded and scored the next two points to take the lead.

Only needing one more point the Cougars’ Caroline Campbell scooped a ball off the floor to save the game for Draft.

Neither team could put the other away and they continued to swap point for point. With the score tied at 29, Johnson rocketed a kill.

The Wildcats were able to hang strong and continued to fight, but the Cougars proved to be too strong.

With the score 32-31 the crowd roared as Callie Updike blocked a shot at the net to give the Cougars the win.

Draft coach Kami Meeteer knew a Game 2 victory would have given either team a lot of momentum.

“The momentum could have shifted either way,” said Meeteer. “Luckily we were able to pull through and get the momentum going into the third game.

The Wildcats had given everything they had in that second game but were unable to capitalize on their chances.

“We played so hard in that second game,” said Rockbridge coach Jessica Smith. “We were ahead of them and then behind and we just couldn’t put it away.”

In the third game the Cougars cruised past the exhausted Wildcat team to take the sweep.

The Cougars win advances them to the tournament championship match Saturday night against Fort Defiance. The match will decide the district’s No. 1. seed. Rockbridge will play Waynesboro in the consolation match on Saturday for the district’s final seed.

“The girls came out did what they had to do to get the win,” Meeteer said. “We have work on consistency with passing and serving before Saturday.”

Stevenson led the Cougars with 12 kills as Johnson added six blocks and Erin brown put up 30 assists.