Riverheads advances to Shenandoah title game

HARRISONBURG — Riverheads fought its way past Page County, winning the semifinal round of the Shenandoah District tournament in four games 25-20, 25-27, 25-19, 25-15 on Wednesday.

The Gladiators will play Stonewall tonight for the Championship. The Generals swept No. 2 Luray on Wednesday.

The Panthers didn’t make it easy for the Gladiators and with numerous errors and shots into the net, the Gladiators didn’t make it easy for themselves.

“We weren’t playing up to our potential,” Riverheads coach Whitney Dove said. “They just weren’t playing the way that they could have.”

Page took an early lead in Game 1, but Riverheads was able to fight its way back and tie the game numerous times. Eventually, the Gladiators gained the lead off of a quick six-point run, with kills coming from Kelsie Floyd and Kristen Moody, putting the score at 22-17. Two bad shots from the Gladiators put the Panthers behind by just three points, but a hard kill from Floyd again, combined with Panther mistakes, gave Riverheads the win.

“That just wasn’t as controlled as they could play,” Dove said.

The Panthers came out in Game 2 in a fury and controlled most of the game. Page’s Brittany Wolfe, though only 5-foot-4, sent mighty kills past the Riverheads’ power blockers Tiffany Flesher and Kayla Baugh. The Gladiators didn’t go down without a fight, but an ace from Page’s Courtney Bickers followed up by a kill from Wolfe finished the game.

“They [Page] are a very quick and aggressive team,” Dove said. “It was literally like a roller coaster tonight.”

Once the Gladiators were able to take the lead in Game 3, off yet another hard kill from Floyd, they never looked back. A combined effort from Katie Coffey, Kasey Hostetler and Baugh finished off the Panthers and sent the teams into Game 4.

“We’ve been working on passing and serving all week,” Dove said. “They just kept sending rainbows over the net instead of solid shots. I told them not to make errors, but I didn’t want them to not hit at all.”

The score seesawed early in the fourth game, until the Gladiators were able to break away thanks to an uninterrupted two kills and a block from Baugh, giving the Gladiators a 14-11 lead. A few mistakes from both sides of the net kept Riverheads in the lead 16-13. A shot into the net from Page put Floyd at the service line, something the Panthers would soon regret, and kept Riverheads in the lead 17-13. Four more continuous net shots from Page plus back-to-back kills from Flesher, Coffey and Hostetler put the Gladiators up 24-13 and kept Floyd at the service line.

“I’ve been in that situation a million times,” Floyd said. “I reminded myself that ‘I don’t need to hit it hard, just get it in for the team.”

The Gladiators play tonight at 7 p.m. to decide the tournament champion.

“We’ve played both Stonewall and Luray before, so we know what to expect,” Floyd said. “We really need to be on our best game and play as a team.”