It’s been so long since Jamestown High’s volleyball team lost a home match that the Eagles’ only three players who were on the team when it happened don’t even remember it.
“Did we lose our freshman year?” Kelly Esch asked her fellow senior captains Monique St. Cyr and Victoria Bowen.
That last loss did in fact come three years ago when the trio of players were freshmen, but none of them could recall. Understandable given they’ve defeated nearly 50 opponents in a row on their home floor since that five-set loss against rival Grafton.
Jamestown polished off its third consecutive Bay Rivers District regular season with an unblemished record at home Tuesday after sweeping Tabb in three sets — 25-9, 25-14, 25-9 — on Senior Night. Throw in a handful of postseason victories over the past few seasons and the Eagles, who have reached the state Final Four in Richmond each of the past two seasons, have won 47-consecutive games on their home floor.
Jamestown coach Tom Stephenson says the winning streak is nice, but it’s not something he or his players put much emphasis on.
“To be honest, we don’t really talk about it,” Stephenson said. “It’s by far the longest streak in [program] history, which is nice, but you don’t get a trophy for it. It’s to the point now where the girls just play with a higher level of confidence and feel like they’re not going to lose here.”
A handful of former players including Briana Sutton, now playing at Christopher Newport University, as well as Randolph-Macon sophomores Anne Knowlton and Emily Ortiz, deserve credit for contributing to the Jamestown’s dominance in recent years, but only Esch, St. Cyr and Bowen have been there for the duration of the current home winning streak.
And they’ve each brought something different to the table.
Esch, headed to play on full scholarship for Louisiana State University next fall, has been one of the district’s most formidable hitters at the net since her sophomore season. St. Cyr, a four-year starter at setter who will play at West Florida next year, holds the state record for assists in a season and can often be seen diving for balls all over the floor. Ditto for Bowen, who showed her versatility by assuming the libero duties this season where she’s been the team’s “glue,” according to Stephenson.
[The senior trio talk about about their success playing at home the past three seasons in the video above.]
Should Jamestown beat Poquoson in both team’s regular-season finale Thursday, it would mark the Eagles’ second consecutive 18-0 season in district play. And since their 20-1 overall record has likely earned them home-court advantage throughout the postseason, beginning with next week’s conference tournament, they’ll at least be playing unfamiliar opponents under the Virginia High School League’s brand new playoff alignment in a familiar setting.
“That’s huge,” Stephenson said of earning home-court advantage. “With the new conference alignment, there’s going to be teams we’ve never seen before in regionals, and we’d much rather see them on our floor.”
