Ashburn, Va. — The last time the volleyball teams from Stone Bridge High School and John Champe High School met on September 29, the Knights won in five sets to place them one spot above the Bulldogs in the Potomac District standings. With the end of the regular season and the district tournament right around the corner, Stone Bridge was looking to avenge the earlier loss and give themselves a chance for better seeding when they faced John Champe for a rematch on October 21 in Ashburn.
After commanding the match through the first two sets, it looked as though the Bulldogs would sweep. But the Knights took advantage of some Stone Bridge errors to take the third set and control most of the fourth set. Not wanting another 5-setter, the Bulldogs came back late in the fourth to claim the 25-18, 25-10, 19-25, 25-22 victory.
“This is our second win, and this shows how well they can play right now. They have improved so much,” Stone Bridge head coach Nadezhda Shulga said. “They can play so well right now, but sometimes we have trouble bringing it to the court, so I am glad for the improvement they made.”
Right from the start, the Bulldogs jumped out to a lead behind back-to-back aces from freshman setter Adelena Akers (18 assists, 12 digs, 6 aces, 1 kill). Senior right side hitter Emma O’Hair (9 kills, 4 aces, 3 digs) pitched in with a couple kills and an ace, and senior libero Charissa Mattison (17 digs, 6 aces, 2 assists, 1 kill) also recorded an ace.
John Champe was led by senior middle hitter Macy Farester (9 kills, 3 aces, 2 blocks, 1 dig)—who had a kill and a block early—but Stone Bridge junior middle hitter Kelly Roberts (7 kills, 1 block, 1 assist) countered with a kill and a block of her own to put the Bulldogs up 13-6 after a long rally.
The Knights fought to get back in it as senior defensive specialist Maura Martinez (7 digs, 3 aces, 1 kill) rattled off a couple aces on a 4-0 run. But Stone Bridge maintained the lead as O’Hair contributed two more kills, and freshman defensive specialist Ayva Agno (9 digs, 7 aces) recorded a couple aces herself on a 5-0 Stone Bridge run to put the Bulldogs up 21-12.
But the Knights were not going down so easily. Junior setter Jazel Oblepias (15 assists, 12 digs, 1 kill, 1 block) found Farester for another kill before Farester went to the service line and notched an ace on a 5-0 John Champe run.
A free-ball kill from Mattison stopped the bleeding and brought Stone Bridge to set point. They capitalized on their first opportunity with an ace from O’Hair for the 25-18 win.
Carrying over their momentum from the first set, the Bulldogs started the second set on an 8-0 run with Agno behind the line recording 4 aces. Following a John Champe timeout at 9-1, the teams traded points until a small run featuring back-to-back kills from Farester brought the set to the closest it would get at 13-7.
From there, Stone Bridge junior outside hitter Kaeleigh Carroll (6 kills, 2 digs) got involved in the action with a pair of consecutive kills, and the Bulldogs received offensive output from five different hitters. Mattison ended the set on an 8-0 run—serving 5 aces over 6 points—as the Bulldogs claimed the 25-10 victory.
“What I realized is that we were serving from zone six to zone six at the libero at the beginning of the season,” Shulga said. “So now, every single practice, we are serving. I have a board [to track progress], and we’re serving five to five, one to one, one to five. We’re measuring how many serves out of ten they place inside the court. They have ten attempts, and we have on the board names and each zone, and this way they can see and connect how many serves they are able to place. So finally, we’re seeing more results from this.”
Despite a strong performance through the first and second sets, errors plagued the Bulldogs in the third, as John Champe took advantage of the miscues and jumped out to the 12-7 lead. Farester contributed a kill during a 5-0 run, and the Knights extended their lead to 17-9. John Champe junior libero Shivika Nigam (18 digs, 3 aces, 2 kills, 1 assist) picked up the defense with a set-high 7 digs and kept the Bulldogs out-of-system by sending free balls over on the first contact.
Although Stone Bridge benefitted from some John Champe errors on a 3-0 run, the Knights countered with a 6-1 run featuring kills from Farester and sophomore outside hitter Kylie Kozak (5 kills, 1 ace) and back-to-back Farester aces to bring the score to 23-13.
A late 6-1 Stone Bridge run that included a kill from senior right side hitter Izzy Moore (5 kills, 3 digs) and an ace from sophomore defensive specialist Julia Darling (5 digs, 2 aces) gave the Bulldogs some late hope. But it was too little, too late as Nigam scored on a free-ball kill for the 25-19 win.
After a couple ties to start the fourth set, Stone Bridge got the upper hand as Akers found junior outside hitter Amanda Bond (3 kills, 2 digs) and Roberts for kills, while O’Hair served an ace on a 4-0 run. But the advantage was short-lived as the Knights went on an 8-0 run with Martinez behind the line recording an ace, Nigam collecting another free-ball kill, and back-to-back blocks to bring the score to 11-7 and force the Bulldogs to burn both timeouts during the stretch.
“From the sideline, I probably looked like I was crazy,” Shulga said. “In the fourth set, I was jumping around in front of the girls and giving high fives down the bench. Then I did the same with our freshman and JV teams, and then I went in the circle to do this during timeouts. I tried to bring my energy up so I could project positivity.”
Carroll responded with another pair of consecutive kills, but back-to-back aces from Nigam kept the lead with the Knights. Following a kill from Moore, Akers reentered the game, served an ace, assisted on kills by O’Hair and Bond, and then dumped the ball on two for a kill to cut the John Champe lead to 2.
A couple plays later, three consecutive kills from Roberts tied the set at 20-20. After another tie at 21-21, Carroll crushed a ball from freshman setter Feven Getachew (9 assists, 4 digs) to bring the score to 22-all. Not wanting to go another set, Akers nailed two straight aces to give Stone Bridge match point. Then Carroll snuck one in right over the block to end the set and the match, 25-22.
“The first two sets we played well,” Shulga said. “I changed the lineup in the third set, I did some substitutions, and it didn’t go well. So I’m happy that we finished the fourth set. The kids have gotten so much better.”
With the final Potomac District regular season games occurring on October 23, John Champe (1-10, 3-16) will return home to face Potomac Falls, and Stone Bridge (1-10, 2-13) will host Briar Woods in games that will determine the final standings heading into the district tournament, which starts on October 27.
“We’ve had chances this season: both times against Freedom it went to five sets, and every single set it was a two-point difference. It was so upsetting,” Shulga said. “We lost to John Champe the first time, and it was also five sets. Today, we won, so today I’m happy because this is a way we can measure our progress. For me, I want to see progress in everything. It is really hard to lose, and it’s really hard to get up every single time and keep going to then lose again. It is hard emotionally. Winning this game proves they are getting better, every single player.”