Western cruises past Fluvanna

By Ryan Yemen
Published: September 16, 2008

PALMYRA — Western Albemarle coach Lance Rogers has been around a lot of volleyball, and seen a lot of strange things happen. Maybe that’s why when his team squandered a significant lead in the second game against host Fluvanna County, he let it roll off his back and sat quietly in his chair on the bench.

“I’m in turmoil on the inside,” Rogers said. “But I want to project an air of confidence because I really do have a lot of confidence in them.”

Rogers’ confidence in his young squad paid off. His team survived the Flucos’ rally to win the second game before winning a tightly-contested third game to take the match 3-0 in what was nothing short of a hostile environment.

“This is a tough place to play,” Rogers said. ‘They’ve always got a great crowd and it doesn’t matter what the records are, Fluvanna always brings their ‘A’ game.”

Youth is usually a hindrance, but you wouldn’t know it from the way the Warriors have played as of late. Led by junior Sarah Harper and senior Aja Linton, the Warriors have young players like freshman Riley Martin stepping up and holding their own.

Martin had a game-high 12 assists. While Harper led the team with eight kills, Chastity Lacy has also emerged as an offensive threat. The junior chipped in seven kills and two blocks.

Since dropping its first game against a talented Albemarle team, Western (4-1, 3-0 Jefferson District) hasn’t lost and is on a four-game winning streak.

Juniors Kayla Walker and Nicole Patterson were a solid 1-2 punch for the Flucos (5-4, 1-1), but couldn’t make up for the many mental mistakes that plagued their team.

Walker had five aces and five kills for Fluvanna. Patterson finished with a team-high six kills.

“We hustled and played hard but we missed a lot of key serves,” said Fluvanna coach Christi Harlowe. “There’s no excuse for it. But it was a matter of inches in every game except the first game.”

Walker aside, Fluvanna struggled with the serve all night, coming up short on the net and often slowing down any momentum.