Though the Jamestown Eagles managed to hand the Loudoun County Raiders their second dropped set of the season, they fell short of winning the Virginia High School League Group 4A State Championship at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Siegel Center on Saturday.
In their second state final appearance in two years, the Eagles (26-1) lost to the Raiders (29-0) in four sets (25-20, 23-25, 25-12, 25-23). The Raiders have won a state title in six of the past seven years.
“I’m very proud of my team and the effort they put forth tonight,” said Jamestown Coach Tom Stephenson. “My girls came out expecting to win, and they played like they expected to win. I’m just very proud of this team.”
Though the Raiders took an 8-3 lead to start the match, the first set remained competitive as the Eagles tied the Raiders at nine points on an ace from senior Megan Sullivan (2 aces). Jamestown would take the lead twice over the next eight plays but the Raiders dominated to end the set on a 10-5 run for a 25-20 first-set win.
The Eagles did not let the set loss get to their heads, instead jumping to an 8-4 advantage at the start of the second set. The Raiders tied the set at 12 points on an ace from senior libero Kelsey Slack (4 aces, 15 digs) then took the lead after a Jamestown error to start a scoring streak that put them up 16-12.
The Eagles fought back, tying the game at 17 points on an ace from senior libero Victoria Bowen (17 digs). Her only ace of the game started a back-and-forth battle over the next nine plays that had the two teams tied four more times before the Eagles broke away one final time on a tip from freshman Ellie Popelka (6 blocks, 2 kills ). The Eagles sealed their second-set win with a kill from Maria Esch (12 kills, 13 digs, 2 aces).
“It’s the only set [Loudoun County] has lost to a 4A school, so we pushed them to the very limit,” Stephenson said.
Momentum from their strong second set stuck with the Eagles, as Maria Esch earned the first point to start the third set in the lead. Though the Eagles put up a good fight to start the set, the Raiders went on a nine-point run the Eagles were unable overcome. The Raiders handily won the set 25-12.
The Raiders kept their run going into the fourth set, streaking 8-0 before Jamestown could manage a point. But Jamestown went on a streak of its own to tie the game at 10 points on a kill from Louisiana State University-bound Kelly Esch (17 kills, 3 blocks). The score remained close the rest of the set with the Raiders ending the set with a 25-23 win to earn their sixth state title in school history.
“It’s a great feeling just to be back here in the Siegel Center because we’ve worked so hard this whole season trying to get here again and we really just tried to work hard to win states,” said setter Monique St. Cyr (35 assists, 13 digs, five kills, 2 aces). “But I feel like we gave it all we had. We played the best volleyball we’ve played all year, so I don’t regret anything. This was the best match. They’re a good team.”
