Ashburn, Va. — Entering the September 24 matchup between Tuscarora High School and Rock Ridge High School in Ashburn, both volleyball teams were looking for their first regular season and Dulles District victory. The Huskies used solid defense, strong service runs, and contributions from several hitters to complete the sweep—25-10, 25-14, 25-18—and get a mark in the win column.
“I think a lot of times we’ve been getting these jitters about being in the gym with everyone watching us. And we’ve really been pressing into that mental health aspect of: we’re here to have fun, play with each other, savor these moments, have gratitude towards it, and that’s really starting to take us to where we need to be,” Tuscarora head coach Kelly Lilly said. “We have a really amazing group of girls overall. They are so sweet, they are leaders in the school, they love each other. But we really focused on communication on the court that wasn’t happening as much and just livening up their spirits and keeping the spirit up on the bench, along with the communication on the court.”
To start the match Tuscarora freshman outside hitter Isabella Jeantel (12 kills, 2 digs) traded kills with Rock Ridge freshman outside hitter Sreeja Inumella (3 kills, 2 digs). But the Huskies took the lead for good behind an 8-0 run as junior setter Keira Rooney (13 assists, 7 digs) found Jeantel and junior outside hitter Soleil Lofton (5 kills, 1 dig) for a couple kills each, while senior defensive specialist Evangeline Gaughf (5 digs, 2 aces) recorded both of her aces for the 13-3 lead.
A couple rotations later, Tuscarora junior setter Olivia Laird (15 assists, 4 digs, 3 aces) reentered the game and rattled off a couple aces herself on a 5-0 run to put the game even further out of reach at 20-6. Senior right side hitter Vivian Bogusz (3 kills, 3 digs) contributed a couple kills late, and the Huskies took advantage of a few Phoenix errors to take the first set, 25-10.
There were six ties and three lead changes to start the second set, as Rock Ridge senior right side hitter Abby Knick (2 kills) and Tuscarora sophomore middle hitter Addison Tirella (8 kills, 3 digs) got involved in the action. Jeantel—who started the season as a middle hitter—also contributed a kill from the outside during the back-and-forth.
“We have a lot of players who can play multiple positions, and we’re still trying to figure out where their best strength for our team is, so we did make some changes,” Lilly said. “Our freshman, Izzy, has traditionally been playing middle in club, but we moved her to the outside because she’s just really incredible there and an asset for us. But then we moved some other people into the middle and that’s been a change.”
Tirella saw significant time in the middle during the match and contributed 2 kills during a 13-1 Tuscarora run that gave the Huskies the lead they would maintain for the remainder of the set. During the stretch, senior libero Kaitlynn Scott (13 digs, 2 aces, 1 assist) recorded both of her aces, and Rooney also found junior right side hitter Makayla Wright (4 kills, 1 dig) for a couple kills.
Rock Ridge sophomore setter Siri Patil (11 assists, 1 dig) found Knick for another kill to stop the bleeding, and then also connected with junior middle hitter Katelyn Weicker (3 kills, 1 ace, 1 dig), but Jeantel ended the set with a couple overpass kills and a final hammer on an assist from Rooney to seal the 25-14 win.
“In practice, we are constantly scrappy and invested,” Lilly said. “We’ve also focused a lot on serve receive and defense for everybody and encourage the girls to know that everyone’s a defender at all times, everyone’s a passer, to really get to that point of being constantly scrappy and making plays no matter what.”
The defensive mindset paid off for the Huskies, as they opened the third set on a 7-0 run with junior defensive specialist Anthea Cross (2 digs, 2 aces) behind the line. Laird connected with Tirella and Jeantel for a couple kills apiece, Cross notched one of her aces, and Scott did not let a ball hit the floor.
The Phoenix responded as sophomore right side hitter Zunairah Hasan (4 digs, 2 aces, 1 kill) countered with 2 aces of her own, and senior libero Kaitlyn Harley (10 digs, 1 kill, 1 ace, 1 assist) picked up the defense on the Rock Ridge side of the net, recording a set-high 8 digs. After a long rally ended with a kill from Rock Ridge sophomore outside hitter Kiara Bueno (4 kills, 4 digs), it seemed like the Phoenix might have new life, bringing the set to 9-5.
But the Huskies were quickly back in it with a kill from Wright and another ace from Cross to force a Phoenix timeout at 14-8. Despite a few rallies and out-of-system plays, Tuscarora’s defense—anchored by the match-high 13 digs from Scott—kept plays alive, gave the offense more opportunities to score, and limited Rock Ridge to six or less kills per set.
“We had a player jokingly say, ‘It’s kind of like when you’re at a birthday party and you keep the balloon up.’ And as silly as that sounds, it’s true. You have to keep the ball alive, no matter what happens, and we’ve got to execute a hit on that final contact. So it’s just about keeping the ball alive,” Lilly said. “We say cliché things like, ‘When life gives you lemons, make lemonade out of it,’ so we’re focused on being cohesive with that communication and knowing that the play doesn’t always have to be traditional: right to the setter and then right to one of your hitters.”
Despite a late Phoenix push behind a couple more Bueno kills and a Weiker ace to bring the score to 20-14, Wright and Lofton connected with Rooney for kills, and then Laird found Tirella for the 25-18 finish.
Both teams will be immediately back in action on September 25 when Tuscarora (1-2, 1-6) hosts Lightridge and Rock Ridge (0-3, 0-8) hosts Woodgrove.
“We know that we have an uphill battle. We know that our program has been in an uphill battle for a while, but we really have an amazing group of girls, and each year we’re growing and we’re building,” Lilly said. “We’re just trying to have faith over fear and calm over the chaos and trying to really just enjoy the sport. And the way to enjoy it is by having fun, and how you have fun is by communicating and giving it everything that you can and putting your heart and your hustle into it.”