Leesburg, Va. — With home court advantage within its grasp, Riverside High School hosted Dominion High School in their annual Dig Pink game on October 16 in Leesburg. For the second time this season, the Rams swept the Titans (25-18, 25-17, 25-11) to sit comfortably in fourth place in the Dulles District.
“We have played teams before where we beat them in three and then play them a second time and take it to five sets,” Riverside senior Christianna Stephenson said. “So this time, we had the mindset and determination that we were going to win in three.”
[adrotate banner=”14″]The first set was intense as Riverside and Dominion traded the lead, up until the last seven points when the Rams were able to pull away from the Titans.
“I think all of us were really frantic in the beginning, so we took a timeout and just reminded ourselves of the basics,” Stephenson said.
After the first set,the Rams were able to shutdown the Titans quickly in set two, running away with a 25-17 win.
With a commanding lead, and the momentum on their side, Riverside dominated the third set, 25-11, to complete the sweep of Dominion.
Everyone on the Rams’ roster contributed in some fashion. The back row successfully passed balls, and the hitters were effective in racking up kills.
Riverside head coach Samantha Ingersoll credits the Rams’ team chemistry as one reason they were able to stay calm despite a shaking start.
“This win was a collective effort,” Ingersoll said.
As the regular season starts to wind down, Riverside (5-5, 6-8) looks to stay on a roll when the Rams host Park View (0-9, 6-11) on October 23. Dominion (2-8, 5-9) has a tall task ahead of them as the Titans travel to Loudoun County (9-0, 20-0) on October 25.
