Draft hangs on to force tie

LEXINGTON – The Cougars had hit the skids.

Last week, the volleyball team lost to Fort, lost its hold on a second straight district championship and lost out on an automatic berth to the Region III tournament.

But on Tuesday, Stuarts Draft had a change of heart.

In a near-perfect performance, the Cougars put the past behind them and shredded Rockbridge in three games, 25-12, 25-13 and 25-13. The shutout put Draft back in the thick of the Southern Valley race, forcing a three-way tie with Fort and Waynesboro.

“The team came out a did what they needed to do,” said Cougar coach Kami Meeteer, “especially with our service.”

Stuarts Draft rode the arm of junior Erin Brown who served the Cougars to a quick 10-0 lead to open Game 1. Brown delivered two aces and nine service points in the run and had plenty of help from seniors Kamron Johnson and Lindsay Iseli as the hitters drilled seven kills to open the game.

“We were very focused, taking one game at a time,” Draft senior Kamron Johnson said.  “Our passing game was very good tonight.  When we get good passing, we get good sets and we can score.”

The Wildcats were shell shocked and never recovered from the Game 1 opening assault, especially after senior Aliya Stevenson hit the service line.

With Stuarts Draft leading 16-8, Stevenson recorded aces in three of her first four jump serves and moments later, Ariel Christy added insult to injury by closing out Game 1 with consecutive aces.

“Erin Brown is a great server and she got us where we needed to start off,” Meeteer said.

There was no let-up in Game 2, although the big Cougar run came as the visitors led 12-8. With Brown at the service line, junior Chayla Burkholder crushed the Wildcats with three consecutive kills from her outside hitting position. Even a Rockbridge timeout was not enough to quell the attack.

Another Brown ace pushed the score to 17-8 and the Draft cruised to the 25-13 win as Johnson and Stevenson added scoring spikes.

“We stayed focused on the game we were playing,” Johnson said.“We just looked for the holes in [the Rockbridge] defense.

The hosts’ defense remained porous in the third game as the Cougars had 14 kills from five different hitters.

Stuarts Draft broke a 5-5 tie as Callie Updike followed consecutive blocks with a kill from her middle spot and Jessi Ramsey followed with an ace and four service points. Stevenson added four kills and Johnson had two more plus a scoring block over the final 10 points of the match.

Besides setting up a three-team blockade at the top of the Southern Valley, the Cougars drew the top spot in the tournament. On Thursday, the Draft will host the same Rockbridge squad they handled with ease Tuesday night while Fort and Waynesboro tangle in the other match.

“Luckily, we know what to expect,” Meeteer said.  “Rockbridge will come out fighting even harder. Everyone has a shot at a regional berth, so we’ll have to work for each win.

“Rockbridge wasn’t able to show [case] its talent tonight, but they are a good team,” Meeteer said. “But we are also getting better.  Now it’s just a matter of chemistry.”

Johnson led a balanced scoring attack with nine kills while Stevenson added seven and Burkholder and Iseli had five each. 

Defensively, Stevenson finished with 15 digs and Caroline Campbell had 13 while Updike had six blocks with two points. 

Brown assisted on 25 scores and finished with 16 service points with four aces. Christy amassed 10 service points and had three aces while Stevenson added nine points and also had three aces.

For Rockbridge, Karyn Powell had three kills on the night.