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Battlefield volleyball attackers too much for Liberty
Local
By Dan Roem
Source: Gainesville Times
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 2008
As so many other Battlefield sports team did in the 2007-08 school year, perhaps this will be the breakout season for the Bobcats’ volleyball team as the girls finally have a legitimate chance to claim the Cedar Run District throne. For the first time in program history, Battlefield (5-2 overall, 4-1 district) found itself tied for first place after sweeping visiting Liberty in three games (25-13, 25-16, 25-11) last Thursday. The third game ended earlier than it should have because the scorekeepers tallied a Liberty point in Battlefield’s favor late in the game. When senior Nikkisha Walker and junior Nicole Doxsee combined for a walk-off block to end the third game, the officials called the match, unaware that the scoreboard was off from two plays earlier. Walker and junior Kelly Milione combined for 18 kills from their front-row positions while Walker and junior middle Annie Jones provided a defensive boost with six blocks each. “We’re maturing right now,” said Jones, whose team is split evenly amongst juniors and seniors. The Eagles kept each game close for at least a little while, such as in the second game when the teams tied seven times by the time the score reached 10-10 thanks to a spike from Liberty senior Heather McInnis. “Liberty plays really smart,” said Battlefield head coach Chris Lem. “We had to really be on our toes to watch what they were up to.” Doxsee mentioned that though Liberty did not hit the ball as physically hard as Battlefield, “they do have good ball control.” One example of that came when Battlefield led 14-8 in the first game. Liberty dug no fewer than four straight Bobcat spikes but eventually succumbed to a relentless offensive attack. “Basically, with a scrappy team, you have to go back to the fundamentals of passing, hitting,” said junior libero Mikaela Whitaker (29 digs). For the outside and middle hitters, Lem instructs them to hit away from potential blocks like the ones McInnis provided in the front row. That’s where the height of someone like Jones, who is about 6-feet tall, came into play as she hit shots above the Liberty defenders’ hands near the net throughout the night. Walker earned the spotlight as the showstopper against Liberty, such as when she fell after a serve only to recover and make back-to-back digs, the latter of which led to a Battlefield point. But in an almost behind-the-scenes fashion, Virginia Hyer and Alyssa Caudle continuously provided sets to attackers that Walker, Milione, Jones and senior Lesley Chambers used so effectively. The two combined for 21 assists Thursday and 20 in their team’s 3-1 win over Fauquier two days earlier. That win marked the first time the Bobcats have ever beaten the Falcons in volleyball and came in no small part to Whitaker’s 39-dig performance in the back court. From Lem’s standpoint, the dig-set-attack approach has worked this year because the Bobcats’ “communication has definitely improved over the season. That’s helped the coach believe that with only seven district games remaining, Battlefield can win the Cedar Run title. “My expectations are always high. I want the girls to dream big [and] play above their potential,” he said.
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