After Western Albemarle volleyball ripped off a 10-point run to win game two and even the match, it was all about just coming back together for Fluvanna County.
“When it’s not going our way, we have to come together because we are a family,” said Fluvanna’s Shelby Crawford. “We played like a family and when we play like that we’re a force.”
Clearly. The Flucos bounced back from a game two loss to win games three and four and close out a 3-1 victory over the Warriors and vault Fluvanna into sole possession of first place in the Jefferson District at nearly the midpoint of the district slate.
A balanced offensive attack led the way for the Flucos with Kayla Gentry notching a team high seven kills, followed by Molly McCall, Isabelle Garrett and Faith Shields’ six kills each as well as Crawford’s five kills. Shields also dished out 32 assists, efficiently running an offense that has a wealth of options after an infusion of young talent.
“They all know each other really well on and off the court and they’re bonding, they really are becoming a family,” said Fluvanna coach Christi Harlowe-Garrett. “It takes time to get there but they’re doing a fantastic job, tonight truly was a team effort.”
The Flucos won game one 25-17 and then took a commanding 22-15 lead in game two, but at that point Western came alive, ripping off 10 straight points to win game two 25-22, knotting the match at 1-1. Amelia Tomlinson’s 20 digs made a big difference during that run and Sofia Beard finished with 13 kills, a season high, to help ignite the Western offense.
“Western is a great team, they have heavy hitters, they’re very smart and so the girls had to battle, they had to work and overcome some adversity,” Harlowe-Garrett said. “I’m really proud of them.”
Fluvanna refused to wilt though, and unleashed a run of its own in game three — this time a 9-0 spurt to win 25-12 and take control of the match with a 2-1 lead. Camryn Birckhead was a big part of the run as she controlled things from the service line and finished with four aces on the night for the Flucos.
The Flucos followed Birckhead’s run with a strong game four, closing out the match with a 25-20 win. Crawford had a trio of blocks while Jillian Davis also stepped up in a big way with 20 digs and Brooke Napier made several particularly tough plays late in game four on the backline.
The Flucos travel to take on Charlottesville Thursday before they face Albemarle at home Tuesday to wrap up the first half of the Jefferson District round robin. The Warriors will look to bounce back at home against Monticello.
