On Thursday, Sept. 4, the Rockbridge County volleyball team traveled to Staunton to take on the Gladiators of Riverheads High School. The Wildcats came out on top, winning in 3 sets (25-23), (25-12), (25-11). 

This was the team’s third game of the season, beating local rivals Parry McCluer 3-0 in the home opener and losing at Wilson Memorial 3-1. 

After a close first set, the girls came together as a team and focused on the upcoming sets. 

Senior and court captain Maisen McKemy speaks on how the team was able to find success in the game. 

 “We started out pretty slow and not playing to our potential, but after that close call of a first set, we quickly got our act together,” McKemy said. “We made adjustments and started playing how we know we can. Our serving, energy, and teamwork really helped push us to get that final set point.” 

The Wildcats were able to comfortably cruise past the Gladiators in sets two and three, completing the difficult task of sweeping them. 

This year, the team started practicing early, well before school started. The open gyms the coaches held in the summer provided opportunities for players to come in and focus on their own individual game. 

Savannah Whitmer, a returning junior, believes it helped the individual players and also the team in the long run.

 “Practicing over the summer really helped us more individually than as a team. Not everyone comes in the summer due to vacations, so there’s usually around five people per open gym,” Whitmer said. “That means that each person gets tons of reps and more eyes on them. Overall, this helped each person individually lock in for tryouts and season play.”

The Wildcats will return back onto the court on Monday, Sept. 7 at Parry McCluer High School in Buena Vista for a rematch with the Blues. Junior varsity volleyball action is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. with varsity slated to start at 7 p.m. Come out and support the team!