Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009

Blazers beat SV, move up in 4-4A volleyball

The Ridge View Blazers volleyball team visited Spring Valley on Tuesday, 10/13/09, needing a win to move into a tie for 3rd in Region 4-4A with the Vikings. The Blazers lost their 2 previous region matches to #4-ranked Blythewood and #6-ranked Rock Hill to drop their region record to 2-4 on the season, 10-7 overall. The Vikings, following a loss to #4 Blythewood, came into play that night with a 3-3 region record, 14-7 overall. With only 4 region matches remaining for each team, this match would likely be important in determining seedings for the 4A state tournament in late October.

Set 1 started with Ridge View getting out to a quick 7-2 lead over the Vikings. The Blazers increased the margin to 19-10, going on to win the set 25-16. The Vikings evened the match in set 2, taking a lead midway through the set at 17-12. The Blazers battled back to tie the set at 21, but Spring Valley answered by scoring 4 of the next 6 points to win the set 25-23.

Set 3 was close early as Ridge View had a slim 13-11 lead, but made strong run in the 2nd half of the set, scoring 12 of the last 15 points of the set. Set 4 was similar, with Ridge View maintaining a 12-8 lead, going on to win the final set 25-15.

The Blazer girls had a well-rounded effort in this match, with several players being involved in both the offensive and defensive aspects of the match. The strong serving that was absent in the previous Rock Hill match seemed to make a re-appearance against Spring Valley. Junior blocker/hitter Keyaira Stevenson, after missing the previous 6 matches due to illness, made her presence felt quickly, banging out a team-leading 13 kills, also adding 2 solo blocks, and 7 digs. Senior setter Megan Woodall distributed the ball to multiple hitters (3 Blazer hitters had double digit kills), on her way to 31 assists for the match, also adding a team-leading 12 defensive digs, and 5 serve aces. Senior hitter Hannah Cox was successful in all areas of the court, collecting 12 kills, 8 digs, and a team-leading 7 serve aces. Sophomore blocker/hitter Diara Lewis was similar, with 11 kills, 10 defensive digs, and 4 serve aces.

The win moves Ridge View into a tie for 3rd place in the region with Spring Valley at 3-4. The two teams split the decisions in their two meetings this season, with Spring Valley winning a 3-setter in their initial match. Next up for the Blazers will be a home match against Lancaster on Thursday at 7:00.

Ridge View (11-7, 3-4) vs Spring Valley (14-8, 3-4) 3-1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-14, 25-15)

Megan Woodall 31 Assists, 12 Digs, 5 Aces, 3 Kills. Diara Lewis 11 Kills, 10 Digs, 4 Aces, 1 block assist. Keyaira Stevenson 13 Kills, 7 Digs, 2 Aces, 2 solo blocks. Hannah Cox 12 Kills, 7 Aces, 8 Digs, 1 block assist. Raven Ashe 7 Digs, 5 Aces. Ronnisha Willis 9 Digs, 1 Ace, 1 solo block. Kendra Vaughn 3 Kills, 4 Digs, 1 Ace, 2 Assists.

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