Leesburg, Va. – With a share of the Dulles District regular season title up for grabs, the Loudoun County High School volleyball team made the short trip across Leesburg for a rematch with rival Heritage High School in the regular season finale on October 26.
The Lady Raiders avenged their loss from earlier in the season, sweeping the Pride (25-16, 25-19, 25-21), claiming a share of the Dulles District regular season title with Heritage.
“When we had played them earlier in the season we had not expected the type of team they came at us with. We were very equipped, but struggled with executing in the first game,” Loudoun County senior setter Andersen Vaughan said. “However, in this game, it felt really rewarding to finally come together as one and play as we should have played prior to today. I feel so proud of my team and just impressed with the level of play we brought!”
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A back-and-forth first set took a turn when the Lady Raiders rallied from down 12-8 to trounce the Pride 25-16.
“We shored up the errors we had against them last time, and, frankly, the girls just picked it up,” Loudoun County head coach Sherrilyn Hanna said. “Their energy and fighting spirit as a team is what carried us.”
The Lady Raiders’ energy carried over into the second set as Loudoun County jumped out to a 12-1 lead. That lead, however, was short-lived as Heritage found new life, rallying to a 16-16 tie.
“We can’t give Heritage any room to run. They’re too good of a team,” Hanna said. “They came out and took over when we gave them the opportunity.”
While Heritage battled back, the Lady Raiders held on to win the second set, 25-19.
Then, the Pride found their spark to start the third set as they jumped out to an early six-point lead. But the Lady Raiders’ determination proved too much, as they came from behind to defeat Heritage, 25-21.
“I think the main contributing factor to outlasting them in the third set was remembering how much we had prepared after our loss,” Vaughan said. “We understand how capable we are across all positions which led to a whole team effort and victory.”
The Loudoun County (21-2, 11-1) win means the Lady Raiders will share co-Dulles District regular season honors with the Pride (17-3, 11-1). The teams will play in a playoff at 1:30 p.m. on October 28 at Tuscarora High School to determine the Dulles District’s No. 1 seed for the VHSL 4A Region C tournament.
“We need to remain focused on the specific aspects of Heritage’s game that benefit us, but also need to tweak our weaknesses,” Vaughan said. “We do have the talent, but it’s our mindsets that need to be adjusted to properly execute the talent we are equipped with on Saturday and any potential future match.”