Less than a week after claiming its eighth straight Jefferson District crown, Western Albemarle was poised to set its sights on accomplishing its first Region II title.

The Warriors will travel to Chancellor today in the first round of the state tournament.

In Purcellville, Albemarle volleyball pulled off a monster upset in the Northwest Region Championship, as the Patriots knocked off home standing Loudoun Valley, 3-2.

Trailing visiting Heritage-Leesburg by three and facing the possibility of elimination in the first round of the Region II tournament, the Warriors rallied to win the decisive fifth game and clinch a 3-2 victory (25-18, 19-25, 16-25, 25-19, 15-12).

If you’re at all familiar with the Western Albemarle volleyball team, the next few words will sound very familiar: The Warriors are headed to the Jefferson District tournament finals.

In the end, first-place Western Albemarle was simply too big and too powerful for second-place William Monroe, prevailing in the third set 25-20 and in the match 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-13).

Albemarle High’s volleyball team isn’t just winning matches right now — they’re dominating them. The Patriots (12-0) have lost just three games in matches this year behind the heavy-hitting attack duo of Kara Elder and Laura Gomez.

Rogers’ confidence in his young squad paid off. His team survived the Flucos’ rally to win the second game before winning a tightly-contested third game to take the match 3-0 in what was nothing short of a hostile environment.