BR claims sixth straight

Last year it was one for the thumb. Now Blue Ridge can start with the other hand.

The Blue Ridge girls’ volleyball team captured its sixth straight District II Class A Girls’ volleyball title with a 3-1 win over MMI Prep.

For the second straight year the Lady Raiders dropped the first set and then reeled off three straight wins to capture the match and the title.

After taking early leads in the first set, MMI Prep fell behind 20-15 before rallying to stun Blue Ridge 25-21.

Blue Ridge took control in the second set and after MMI Prep cut the lead to 17-16 Alison Marshman had a kill and Breanna Post followed with four straight service points to gain momentum. Alyssa Sherwood finished off the Preppers for a 25-17 win.

“I feel as a team it takes us time to settle into big games for some reason,” said Hunter Heeman.

Marshman helped Blue Ridge take a 6-0 lead in game three and the Lady Raiders never looked back in a 25-10 win. Sherwood, Heeman, and Makenzie Cook combined for nine kills during the set.

“We knew we had the abilities and that we had to work harder and continue to communicate and play the way we always do,” said Marshman.

MMI Prep rallied and led most of game four. But with MMI up 20-17 Heeman asserted herself with three straight kills during an 8-3 run while Post added one more and Sherwood sealed the victory with a final kill.

Heeman felt Blue Ridge’s execution and ability to use emotion and the atmosphere helped propel them to victory.

“We executed much better,” said Heeman. “With volleyball being such a mind game and us being extremely loud also helped with our win.”