Virginia Volleyball Showcase recap
“It’s still very early, but I think we played slightly better than I thought we would,” Ford said.
James River won seven of the nine games in pool play, advancing to the to the championship division by winning a tiebreaker with Deep Run. After winning a tight match with First Colonial, the Rapids held off a big rally to beat Douglas Freeman 25-14, 28-26 in the final.
“In the first game of the finals we played about as well as we can play,” Ford said. “We didn’t play as well in the second game but I was prouder of that game than the first one. We hung in there and didn’t make a lot of mistakes other than the ones that Douglas Freeman forced us to make.”
Runner-ups view: Douglas Freeman went 6-3 in pool play and defeated Atlee in the semifinals before falling to James River. This was the first significant action for the Rebels because all of their preseason matches were cancelled.
“We didn’t come into this tournament with any superstars, but we played really well as a team,” coach David Calvert said. “I’d by lying if I said they didn’t surprise me.”
Slow starts in nearly every match is one thing that Calvert will work to correct. In pool play they struggled early before winning 25-22 over Hanover to open the tournament and lost to Ocean Lakes in their first game.
“Against Atlee we were down 10-4 [the Rebels won 25-16, 25-20] and we had a real tough start against James River. They played like the defending state champions. It didn’t surprise me that we came back. We played with a lot of heart and hustle.”
Other teams looking good: Atlee won its pool at the tournament and drew praise from Calvert after losing to the Rebels in the semifinals.
“Atlee really surprised me, they lost some seniors but they dominated in pool play,” Calvert said. “They are like us, they don’t have any superstars but they play really well as a team.”
Ford expected all the teams from the Eastern Region to play well, but the Rebels’ semifinal opponent First Colonial stood out among them. The Patriots went 8-1 in pool play and lost a squeaker to James River 25-22, 23-25, 15-12 “First Colonial was a very difficult team to play. They were able to take away some of the things we liked to do in the first two games. That match could’ve gone either way.”
By George Templeton
Champions view: Coach Terry Ford talked about the team’s youth and how tough it will be for his James River side to defend its state championship, but the Rapids are off to the perfect start by winning the Virginia Volleyball Showcase at Richmond Volleyball Club.“It’s still very early, but I think we played slightly better than I thought we would,” Ford said.
James River won seven of the nine games in pool play, advancing to the to the championship division by winning a tiebreaker with Deep Run. After winning a tight match with First Colonial, the Rapids held off a big rally to beat Douglas Freeman 25-14, 28-26 in the final.
“In the first game of the finals we played about as well as we can play,” Ford said. “We didn’t play as well in the second game but I was prouder of that game than the first one. We hung in there and didn’t make a lot of mistakes other than the ones that Douglas Freeman forced us to make.”
Runner-ups view: Douglas Freeman went 6-3 in pool play and defeated Atlee in the semifinals before falling to James River. This was the first significant action for the Rebels because all of their preseason matches were cancelled.
“We didn’t come into this tournament with any superstars, but we played really well as a team,” coach David Calvert said. “I’d by lying if I said they didn’t surprise me.”
Slow starts in nearly every match is one thing that Calvert will work to correct. In pool play they struggled early before winning 25-22 over Hanover to open the tournament and lost to Ocean Lakes in their first game.
“Against Atlee we were down 10-4 [the Rebels won 25-16, 25-20] and we had a real tough start against James River. They played like the defending state champions. It didn’t surprise me that we came back. We played with a lot of heart and hustle.”
Other teams looking good: Atlee won its pool at the tournament and drew praise from Calvert after losing to the Rebels in the semifinals.
“Atlee really surprised me, they lost some seniors but they dominated in pool play,” Calvert said. “They are like us, they don’t have any superstars but they play really well as a team.”
Ford expected all the teams from the Eastern Region to play well, but the Rebels’ semifinal opponent First Colonial stood out among them. The Patriots went 8-1 in pool play and lost a squeaker to James River 25-22, 23-25, 15-12 “First Colonial was a very difficult team to play. They were able to take away some of the things we liked to do in the first two games. That match could’ve gone either way.”
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