Dominating third and fourth sets proved to save the girls volleyball team’s season. The gym was loud and the play was exciting as the Cavaliers took on the Mavericks of Douglas Freeman High School in the first game of the 5C Region volleyball tournament. The Cavs entered the match as the six seed in the region, while the Mavericks entered as the 11 seed. 

In hopes to face off at Glen Allen High School in the next round, both teams came out firing on all cylinders. Freeman looked to be more prepared; however, the Cavs made multiple mental mistakes early. Those mistakes, mixed with miscommunication, gave the Mavericks a quick three point lead. The miscommunication is something that Cavalier Chronicle Player of the Game Virginia Collins believes the team has struggled with all season.

“There were some nerves, but we have had to work on communication a lot,” Collins said. “We’ve struggled with it a little bit, so at practice we’ve been communicating more and more and we’re trying to implement that into the game.”

While the Cavs seemed to look rusty early, they were able to pull away with the set, winning 25 to 19. Many of the Cavaliers’ points came courtesy of aces by senior Izzy Carter and the aforementioned Collins. 

In all, Collins produced 12 kills, five aces and a block. The junior attributes her tremendous play to the Mavericks defense struggling to stop the team’s sharp attack. 

The second set saw the Cavs score the first four points. Two of those points came thanks to blocks that fell on the Freeman side of the net by freshman Chasya Deliazard. Deliazard also scored an ace a little bit later in the set. Following the quick four to nothing Cavalier lead, Freeman stormed right back, tying the game at four apiece. More of the same mental mistakes plagued the Green and Gold in the second set. For instance, much of the team, as well as the bench, incorrectly judged a service as out-of-bounds. The mistake resulted in the ball falling inbounds, untouched by the Cavs for one of the easiest points of the game.

With Freeman pulling out to a 22 to 18 lead late in the set, coach Mike Carter took a timeout to help his team regroup. However, the timeout seemingly did not do much, as the Mavericks took the set 25 to 19.

The Cavaliers dominated the following two sets of the match. Thanks to three straight aces by junior Addison Thompson, along with a very impressive nine to two run at the end of the third set, the Cavs rolled to win the third and fourth set 25 to 11 and 25 to 17, respectively. 

The fourth set win gave the Cavaliers a three to one match win. Collins hopes to improve the team’s communication before the next match. It is something that she says must be perfected before taking on such a fierce opponent.

“We’ve been trying so hard the whole season to work on communication,” Collins said. “Sometimes the communication doesn’t always get through, and we get that, but we definitely need to work on that.”

With the win, the Green and Gold will move on in the 5C Regional Tournament to play Glen Allen. The Glen Allen Jaguars (13-6) will host the match tonight at 5:30 p.m.