Thursday, October 22, 2015

VOLLEYBALL: Atlee Boys Remain #1, Three Wins in Three Nights....

Atlee celebrated Senior Night on Wednesday with a three-set sweep of Armstrong to improve to 19-2 on the season. The Raiders, top-ranked in the RVA Sports Network Super 6 Boys Volleyball Poll, knocked off fourth-ranked Mills Godwin Monday in four sets.

In between, the Raiders handled county rival Patrick Henry. RVASN correspondent Taylor Luck was there and filed this report:

Tuesday saw the Atlee Raiders boys volleyball team, currently the top seeded team in the Super 6 Poll, take on their county rival Patrick Henry Patriots in what may well be a preview of a first round match in the Conference 12 tournament. Patriots came into the night with a 13-6 record, and planned on using the game as a measuring stick to see how far they had progressed over the season. But the Raiders wanted to show why they've earned their top ranking, bringing a dominating performance in all aspects of the game for a 3-0 victory over the Patriots.

Atlee jumped out to a 5-0 lead early in set 1 and only increased that lead before taking the set, and the 1-0 match lead, 25-16. The first 10 points of set 2 were close, but Atlee rallied for another 25-16 win after being tied 9-9 earlier in the set. Set 3 was never close, as Atlee gained a 5-2 advantage early on and never looked back. Patrick Henry made a last ditch effort to come back with their backs against the wall down 24-15, but their 4 point rally wouldn’t be close to enough as Atlee finished their dominating sweep with a 25-20 set 3 victory.

Patrick Henry had no answer to Atlee's control of the net, including powerful kills from Eric Rohr and Jake French. Rohr led the way for Atlee, with 11 kills on the night. Owen Ward totaled 33 assists and Jacob Rehmer-Stephens had 18 digs against the Patriots. The Raiders finish their regular season away Tuesday against Henrico.

Patrick Henry is now 13-7, and is trying to earn as high a seed as possible in the upcoming Conference 12 Tournament. The Patriots came into tonight without senior Dalton Nash, and lost senior Austin Spencer to what appeared to be an ankle injury after the second set. With injuries spreading them thin, and familiar issues of letting close balls go and poor serving plaguing the team; Patrick Henry faces an uphill battle as the postseason draws near. The Patriots finish off their season with a final home game on Thursday against Highland Springs, and two away games next Tuesday and next Wednesday against Varina and Armstrong. A 3-0 record in the final stretch should help the Patriots boost their seeding for the following week's tournament.

Atlee and Patrick Henry join Conference 12 for the postseason because no other team in their regular conference, Conference 16, plays boys volleyball. The tournament brackets are available on our sister website by CLICKING HERE.

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