Ashburn, Va. — After losing their first matchup 2-3 and then dropping another heartbreaking 5-setter two days earlier, the Heritage High School volleyball team was looking to avenge their regular season losses to Rock Ridge when they faced each other again in a Dulles District semifinal on October 30 in Ashburn. The Pride overcame second- and third-set losses to capture the extended fourth-set victory and the deciding fifth set—25-22, 23-25, 12-25, 27-25, 15-11—to claim a spot in the Dulles District championship match and a trip to the VHSL Region 4C tournament for the first time since 2019.
“This win feels amazing because we were all really hyped,” Heritage sophomore middle hitter Shannon Treloar said. “I think it made a difference that we didn’t have to come here from a full day of school, too. Everyone was told to rest when they got home [from practice]. When we got here, we had music in the locker room, and we were hyping everyone up.”
While Rock Ridge was led by their seniors—outside hitters Anna Koroma (22 kills, 12 digs, 3 aces, 2 blocks) and Rania Lahbibi (20 kills, 14 digs, 2 blocks, 1 ace), setter Michelle Kim (43 assists, 16 digs, 2 aces, 1 kill, 1 block), and libero Gabby Anderson (22 digs, 3 assists, 1 ace)—Heritage received contributions from several different players and won from the service line by recording 11 aces and benefiting from 17 Phoenix service errors on the match.
“We’ve had a lot of adjustments over the season, and it’s hard to build consistency when you have a lot of adjustments,” Heritage head coach Quintin Coates said. “But the conversation going in was to stay calm and to own the positions that they’re in.”
The teams opened the first set with seven ties and five lead changes, as errors on both sides of the net occurred while the teams settled in. Following a 7-1 run that featured 3 kills and 2 blocks from Treloar (14 kills, 3 aces, 2 blocks), Heritage took the lead for good and rode it out to the end.
“Yesterday at practice I was mad about how I was only tipping,” Treloar said. “So I told myself, ‘I’m gonna hit every single ball today,’ and it just worked. I was really excited about it!”
Although Rock Ridge made a last-ditch effort to overcome the deficit with 3 kills apiece from Koroma and Lahbibi during the final stretch, Heritage senior right side hitter Myah Gross (5 kills, 1 block) ended the set 25-22 with a kill to put the Pride up 1-0.
The second set featured eight ties through the first 30 points as Heritage led through the middle stretch. Heritage senior right side hitter Kasey Holland (6 kills, 1 block) got involved in the action with 3 kills and a block, sophomore setter Annabelle Kim (15 digs, 13 assists, 1 kill) dished out a handful of assists and provided solid defense, and Treloar contributed with a couple kills and an ace.
“Shannon has been a game changer, a complete 180 from last year when she was on JV,” Coates said. “She had the structure there, but she was still building the consistency on the JV level. Now, we have setters that can consistently get her the ball wherever she is on the court, and when serve-receive is on, she’s on.”
However, Rock Ridge took over after the last tie at 15-15 and maintained the lead to the end. Behind the performances of Lahbibi, Koroma, and Kim, the Phoenix stole the second set, 25-23, and evened the match at 1-1.
Rock Ridge then controlled the third set from start to finish, as the only consistent force from the Pride was Treloar, who recorded 3 kills in the set. Koroma continued to dominate offensively, and Anderson grounded the Phoenix defensively. Rock Ridge serve-receive was on point, as they shut out the Pride and did not allow any aces on the set. And with 4 aces of their own—to go along with 9 kills and 3 blocks—the Phoenix easily captured the third set, 25-12.
“We had really good energy coming into the game, and I think that’s why we won the first set how we did,” Treloar said. “But then I think we got a little bit cocky in the second and third sets.”
With their backs against the wall, the Pride knew they had to give it their all to get back in the match. With a tie at every point from 1 to 6, the lead teetered back and forth as both teams fought for the advantage. The set featured a bunch of defense with many intense rallies as both sides picked up their court coverage to make it difficult for hitters to find the floor. But it was the Phoenix who pulled ahead through the middle stretch of the set, relying once again on their seniors to get the job done.
Meanwhile, the Pride looked to a fresh face for some much-needed production. After being called up to varsity for the postseason, sophomore outside hitter Eva Galofaro (10 digs, 4 kills, 2 aces) made her presence known in the fourth set, recording a set-high 9 digs and coming through on a few clutch plays.
“Eva is a competitor. Number one, she’s a competitor,” Coates said. “So wherever we have her on the court, she’s taking charge, she’s taking constructive criticism when it needs to come, she’s taking it in, and she’s using it on the court. She’s a travel softball player, so she builds grit from there and applies it to volleyball to keep her strong mentally and just focuses on the technique and the skill.”
Taking advantage of some Rock Ridge errors, applying service pressure, and gaining output from their middles, Heritage went on a 10-3 run to even the score at 19-19 with a kill followed by back-to-back aces from Galofaro.
“We were working as a team instead of just individual people, and everyone was doing what they needed to do,” Treloar said. “We kept the energy up, we cheered for every point, we brought people on the court that could get the job done, and we did the job.”
Similar to the start of the set, ties occurred at every point from 19 to 25, as neither team wanted to give up the edge. Koroma provided the Rock Ridge offensive spark with 3 of her set-high 8 kills late in the set—including one after a crucial ace from junior defensive specialist Riley Makitka (18 digs, 3 aces) that gave the Pride set point at 24-23. But a put-away from Galofaro on their third set point opportunity gave Heritage the 27-25 victory to stay alive and force a deciding fifth set.
“Switching up the lineup helped to build the charge for the younger girls and build the confidence between them and the other girls on the court,” Coates said. “It gets them in the gist of playing with the team in districts, which builds their confidence. We wanted to get them the ball as much as possible, regardless of if they’re making a mistake or getting the point. We’re really just trying to build confidence at the net.”
While Heritage had the momentum late in the fourth set, Rock Ridge established the early lead in the fifth as Koroma set the tone with 2 kills, a block, and an ace. But the defensive contributions from Makitka and Heritage junior libero Emily Kolas (28 digs, 4 assists, 1 ace, 1 kill) kept rallies going and forced a couple Phoenix errors that opened the door for the Pride to take their first lead of the set at 9-8 on a critical kill from Holland.
Although the teams traded points for the remainder of the match, Heritage would not give up the lead, as they ended the fifth set in a similar fashion as the fourth: with an ace from Makitka and the game-winning kill from Galofaro.
“We had to play for each other, and we had to play for our seniors,” Treloar said. “That was what really pushed us. Everyone was locked in. We were able to bring it back just because of the sheer want and energy from the team.”
After finally capturing the victory they’ve been chasing all season, the Pride will now travel to Dominion—a 3-0 winner over Loudoun Valley in the other Dulles District semifinal—on November 4 for the championship match. Regardless of that result, Heritage will then face rival Loudoun County—a 3-1 winner over John Champe in a Catoctin District semifinal—on November 7 in a VHSL Region 4C semifinal.
“[For those matches] we will need to focus on that first touch—whether it be in serve-receive or on defense—so we can get all three of our hitters available, instead of just running the outside every single point. But the passing is everything,” Coates said. “Anything’s possible, right?”