Western Albemarle handles Heritage

After a slew of errors in the first four games, when Western Albemarle volleyball coach Lance Rogers saw his team allow a pair of points and give no effort in the fifth and final game, he lost it. Rogers flipped his clipboard, threw his arms in the air and called timeout.

“I said [to the team] we’re not going to go down with balls hitting the floor and we’re making eye contact,” Rogers said. “We’re going to have bodies on the floor.”

His team got the message. 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).

“Being behind we were thinking about the mental game,” said senior Alex Ernst. “We thought about what we could do and not just slamming the ball.”

With Heritage keeping a close watch on hard-hitting Sarah Harper, Ernst was the hero of game five, giving the Warriors three big kills on tips down the stretch.

“We constantly talk to our players about being aware of the whole court,” Rogers said. “Some players have a feel for where the open spots are and she felt it each time and dropped it in behind the block.”

The senior middle led the team in kills with 17.

Frustrated with her team’s season coming to an end, Heritage coach Carmel Keitly had few words to offer.

“Western played a great match,” Keitly said. “They deserved to win. They played their hearts out. They played to win. End of discussion.”

Western started strong by winning the first game convincingly, but mental mistakes cost the Warriors the second game. In the third game, Heritage hitters Ashley Scott and Emma Lemaitre overwhelmed Western.

Trailing 2-1 entering the fourth game, Rogers needed a spark to get his team going.

“I kept telling them that we’ve been here a million times and can handle the pressure,” Rogers said. “Sometimes my job is to remind them of how good they are.”

The Warriors came out of the huddle and played their best game of the night to force the fifth and final game.

Harper, Chastity Lacy and Riley Martin all had big games as well for Western. Harper and Lacey combined for 31 kills while Martin had 30 assists. Harper was also instrumental on defense, chipping in 21 digs.

Western will travel to Sherando at 7 p.m. on Thursday for the Region II semifinals.