Leesburg, Va. — The Loudoun County High School volleyball team is used to winning, but when the Dominion Titans took the trip down Route 7 for a Dulles District clash in Leesburg, the Captains knew they’d have their hands full.
“We had a rough start at the beginning of the season, but we’re finally starting to see some progress and the girls gelling as a team,” first-year Loudoun County head coach Sarah Mozeyko said. “It’s good to see everyone contribute in their own way.”
The Captains set the tone early, earning a 25-20 win in the first set, however, the Titans stormed back with a convincing, 25-14, win in the second set to even the match out at 1-1.
“I thought we played tough,” Dominion head coach Phuong Tat said. “This is one of the best competitions in the district, and we’re fighting, and we’re right in it every single time. Both sides showed a lot of heart, and it could have gone anyone’s way tonight.”
[adrotate banner=”38″]Like they had in the second set, Dominion took an early lead in the third set and never looked back, once again powering past the Captains, 25-11, to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
“Dominion put up a really tough fight, and they’re going to be a team to beat this season,” Mozeyko said. “They run a really quick offense, and their hitters aren’t afraid to hit. Their defense is steady, and their block is difficult to work through. They have a presence at all six positions.”
Having dominated the volleyball scene in Virginia for more than a decade, the Captains weren’t ready to throw in the towel just yet as they created some cushion in the fourth, before holding off the Titans, 25-21, to force a decisive fifth set.
In the fifth, Dominion once again jumped out to an early lead but Loudoun County fought back taking a lead at 6-5. Over the next 15 points, the Titans evened out the score four times, but the Captains did not rescind the lead until Dominion had the first chance at match set with a 14-13 lead.
The Captains, however, wouldn’t let the Titans walk away with the win in their first opportunity, tying the set at 14-14. Loudoun County won the next point to take a 15-14, but Dominion responded with a point to mark the eighth tie of the set.
From there, the Captains once again earned the advantage—and a match point. Leading 16-15, Loudoun County senior outside Corinne Bonamassa lined up to serve and rolled the ball over the top of the net for an ace as the Captains escaped the Titans—25-20, 14-25, 11-25, 25-21, 17-15—on September 15 in Leesburg.
The Titans will have their chance at redemption in less than a month when they host the Captains in a rematch on October 11.
“We just have to continue to stay aggressive,” Tat said. “When you enter the second half of the season, everyone is gunning for it, and when everyone is striving to get better, we just have to match that intensity.”
The Captains will look to maintain their position atop the Dulles District standings when they travel to Rock Ridge on September 19.
“Something we’re struggling against this season is not playing against ourselves,” Mozeyko said. “Sometimes we let down, but we need to work on having good momentum all the way through the match. We can’t be up and down. We’re still working on that mental toughness, so that we can succeed the rest of the season.”
