Girls volleyball: Landstown makes successful state tourney debut

VIRGINIA BEACH

Consistent setter Vanessa Rodriguez kept Landstown’s power-hitting trio well fed Tuesday night as the host Eagles swept Loudoun Valley, earning their first berth in the state Group AAA volleyball semifinals.

Eastern Region champion Landstown, which climbed to 21-4 after the 25-19, 25-18, 25-21 success, plays Northern Region runner-up Westfield (21-7) in Thursday’s 7 p.m. semifinal at the Siegel Center in Richmond.

Eastern runner-up Cox (18-9) had its season ended by Albemarle in Charlottesville, 25-21, 18-25, 25-16, 25-16. Albemarle (25-3) meets Northern champion Chantilly (25-1) in Thursday’s 5 p.m. semifinal.

Landstown’s latest display of hitting balance featured 10 kills by Jenny Pry, eight by Hannah Hugeback and seven from Andrea Rodriquez, Vanessa’s sister.

“Vanessa doesn’t get a lot of credit, but she is our calm quarterback and makes our hitting success possible,” Landstown coach Cheryl Smith said. “They all look to Hannah for leadership, but Vanessa is the quiet glue of this team.”

Rodriguez, whose first taste of volleyball was in Venezuela before she came to the United States as a sixth grader, said the Eagles anticipated a stronger offensive performance from Cedar Run District champion Loudoun Valley (22-5).

“We worked hard on defense in practice to prepare for them,” said Rodriguez, who also contributed 10 service points. “Our communication was a big key to this win as it has been most of the season. Our confidence has increased as we’ve played better as a team.”

Loudoun Valley made a slew of unforced errors playing in unfamiliar surroundings that included a vocal Landstown student section.

The Vikings couldn’t hold a 20-17 lead in the third set. Landstown rallied with an 8-4 spurt to close out the match. Pry’s hitting and Jenna Hugeback’s serving fueled the rally.

Andrea Rodriguez led a blocking effort that often frustrated Loudoun Valley’s hitters in key situations. She totaled six blocks.

Morgan Clark led the Vikings with six kills, while Nicole Bennett recorded 12 service points.

“The kids are playing well, we’ll just have to see what happens in Richmond,” Smith said.

Pry said the Eagles run to the Final Four hasn’t really surprised her.

“We knew at the start of the season we had the talent, it was just a matter of picking each other up as a team and playing consistently,” she said.

In Charlottesville, Cox coach Claire LeBlanc said an Albemarle offense faster than what her team was used to doomed the Falcons.

“They exploited our middles and we didn’t block well,” LeBlanc said.

Chelsea Blanford and Corrie Sanders recorded 11 kills apiece for Cox in its fifth consecutive state tournament appearance.

“Albemarle set and passed very well,” LeBlanc said. “It was a good experience for our young bunch to play at this level.