Pats stop Warriors

By Ryan Yemen
Published: August 26, 2008

With a roster chock-full of size and talent, Albemarle volleyball coach Mark Ragland hopes that his team’s potential doesn’t go to waste.

“The girls can go as far as they want,” said Ragland. “Talent-wise, we compete with most teams in the state. If we can get the ball to the setter we’ll be in business.”

Albemarle did just that on Tuesday night against cross-county rival Western Albemarle.

The Patriots struggled with mental mistakes early, but the presence of Kara Elder and Laura Gomez ultimately overwhelmed the Warriors, giving Albemarle the 3-1 victory.

“We came out very tight,” Ragland said. “And that’s been typical of this team in big matches.”

The Warriors took the first game 25-21, but when the teams switched sides and took the court again, the Patriots played up to their size. Albemarle (2-0) won each of the next three games by eight or more points.

“In the second game, we started to loosen up and then our passing started to pick up,” Ragland said.

Gomez and Elder fueled the offense up front, racking up 12 kills apiece. The two Patriots hitters can thank setter Abby Hendrix for the kills. Hendrix finished with a staggering 28 assists.

“She’s very scrappy,” Ragland said of Hendrix. “She made some great decisions out there and had some beautiful sets out there tonight.”

Western coach Lance Rogers hopes to take as much as he can out of playing a strong team like Albemarle early in the season.

“It’s a great test early on,” Rogers said. “Albemarle is the kind of team we need to be able to hang with all five games when it comes to the postseason.”

Sarah Harper had a strong game for the Warriors (1-1). The junior finished with nine kills and 19 digs.

“We tend to rely on her too much,” Rogers said. “She does so much for us. She passes well, she hits well. If she could set herself, we wouldn’t have to have five other people out there.”

Rogers anticipated the Albemarle offense posing a major problem, especially if the Warriors struggled with ball control.

“We knew coming in that we’re a young small team that plays pretty good defense,” Rogers said. “But [Albemarle] is a strong offensive team, and to have a chance in this match we had to control the ball. I thought we controlled the ball in the first game but let that get away from in the next three games.”

Western travels to Louisa County on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Albemarle hosts Gar-Field on Thursday at 7 p.m.