Consider last week's volleyball match between Battlefield and to be a reality check about where each team stands near the midway point of the season.

Host team Liberty earned a relatively easy 3-1 (25-15, 18-25, 25-16, 25-22) victory over former district rival Battlefield and kept the Eagles' record near perfect with about five week to go before the playoffs begin.

Liberty set the tone in the first game after trailing 0-3 after three unforced errors with a consistent set-and-attack approach by Kathryn Johnson and Erin Morant.

The two paired up for at least five of the Eagles points, with Johnson making the pass and Morant delivering an often lethal spike, using the whole court to her advantage.

"We've been working with (them) in practice a lot trying ot get their timing down, their rhythm down," said Liberty head coach Julie Frack. "Our passing is really great; we work on that a lot."

Senior Elizabeth Wood and junior Shelby Payne also took advantage of Johnson's assists for points.

"Liberty was a very scrappy team," said Battlefield libero Sofia Gasperino. "They pretty much got everything up, so I guess they caught us off guard a bit."

Battlefield responded in the second game by breaking a 5-5 tie with three scoring runs of at least three points each. Senior Taylor Anderson's ace serve gave Battlefield a lead that turned into a 5-9 advantage thanks to kills by Hannah Radhi and Julie Leavitt and an unforced Eagle error.

During their next run, Radhi tallied three points of her own with a no-look tapper over the net and back-to-back aces. Outside hitter Brigette Boyd chipped in a kill as well to pad the Bobcats' lead.

Gasperino explained that "everyone has so much talent on our team and it's really fun when everyone's working together and trusting each other."

However, the senior captain added, "The frustrating part is I guess is getting everyone to focus."

Liberty took advantage of that by grabbing a quick lead of its own in game three en route to a nine-point victory before holding off a more determined Bobcats' team in the final round.

The Eagles entered the match against Battlefield having only lost once all season, against Evergreen District rival Kettle Run in the Monticello Invitational championship game. Only two other teams all season have even forced five-game series against Liberty.

Frack said that the Eagles' passing game has been a top priority this season as the setters are better able to tee up their assists when the backline delivers easy lobs to them.

It's "what we've been trying to improve on," said Frack. "And we have."

Centreville on Monday night was not one of them as the Eagles ousted the Wildcats 3-1 to improve their record to 15-1 on the year.

Starting September 26, Liberty begins a string of district games against Fauquier, Brentsville District and Kettle Run before heading off to Sherando on October 11. The Eagles close out their regular seaosn schedule with district games against Brentsville, Warren County and Kettle Run.

Meanwhile, the Bobcats racked up four wins during the Endless Summer tournament in Virginia Beach earlier this month, dropping only the title match en route to a second-place finish in the White Division. Boyd, a senior captain and defensive specialist, even earned a spot for the all-tournament team.

In other action during the last month though, Battlefield's produced a mixed bag.

After the Liberty match, BHS found itself at 7-3 overall, meaning three of the Bobcats' wins have come against routine opponents. Battlefield secured arguably its biggest victory against the Flint Hill Huskies on September 13, coming back from an 0-2 hole to win 3-2 in a nail-biter that featured one overtime game and another two-point victory to close it out.

Battlefield also swept head coach Chris Lem's alma mater of Robinson 3-0 on September 7 and followed up the next day against Group A Manassas Park with another sweep.

Gasperino earned high honors in the match where the Bobcats outscored the home-team Cougars 75-38 over three games. Her 13 aces set a new program record for Battlefield.

However, the losses for Battlefield though have been particularly tough affairs. Kettle Run opened the season by taking all three games against the visiting Bobcats, and Powhatan won the Endless Summer tournament with a 2-0 victory.

The loss against Liberty marked the only time in three unsuccessful outings Battlefield has even managed to take a single game from an eventual victor.

As she compared one of the victories against the Liberty defeat, Gasperino said that against Flint Hill, "we strategized more" while showing more energy and an ability to work well together.

Boyd, Gasperino and Anderson are in charge are the defensive back line as they're the members particularly responsible for collecting digs.

"When we're on our 'A' game, we have perfect passes to the setter," Gasperino explained. "When we're on our 'A' game, all our passes are perfect and we run our offense smoothly."

As for now, the libero mentioned that the team is focused on playing with more consistency and accomplishing whatever it takes to cobble together a winning season.

District play begins in earnest for the Bobcats Thursday night in Haymarket against Freedom (South Riding). Battlefield then heads to Manassas on September 27 to tangle with arch rival Stonewall Jackson.

"With our district, you have to play each night," Lem said at the beginning of the season. "Anybody can win as we saw last year."