Spartans Fall to Fairfax 3-1

You could see the fire and determination in the eyes of the Lady Spartans as they walked out on the volleyball court Wednesday night against Fairfax High School. The team was comfortable, relaxed, and walked around the court with a swagger in their step during the first game of match.

Senior Niesha Berger, the Spartans defensive specialist, stood out, and only partially due to her bright orange jersey. She captained everything the first game, directing her teammates into position time and time again. Almost every play in the first game was executed exactly the way Berger and coach Stephanie Noriega wanted. Berger had a clean dig off the opposing serve, a high arching set, and outside hitter Shannen Scott finished with a strong spike down the line. The Lady Spartans led almost the entire game and cruised to a 23-13 victory in the first game.

"We started the match very strong," Noriega said. "If we stayed that consistent through the next three games we could have come away with the win."

The Spartans opened the second game with a 11-4 run, continuing their hot streak from the first game. Then Fairfax's Megan McKenzie went off for the Rebels. The tall and lanky outside hitter showed off her athletic ability bringing the Fairfax offense back to life. Fairfax stormed back to tie the game at 15. But Abigail Baughman diving shot gave Fairfax their first lead of the game, 16-15, and they never looked back. The Rebels won the second game 25-20 and tied the match at 1-1.

The third game was full of lead changes as both sides exchanged powerful strikes. Fairfax led late 16-15 and called a timeout to discuss a game plan. The Rebels looked liked they had the third game secured until Adrienne Melean set up Scott for a huge hit down the right sideline to cut the Rebel lead to 23-21. It proved to be too little too late, as the Rebels strong front line stood tall and shut the Spartans hitters giving them a 25-21 victory in the third game.

Amelia Bickley opened the fourth game with five consecutive service points for the Spartans. Springfield was on cruise control in the fourth game with an 11-3 lead after Alexis Lopez's service ace. The Rebels once again stormed back and cut the Spartan lead to 14-12. On the Rebels ensuing drive, Scott had a huge dig off a rocket-launched spike from the Rebels power hitter McKenzie. Scott then recorded two consecutive points on her serve to give the Spartans a 17-15 lead. The Rebels once again came from behind, their speciality all night, winning the fourth game and capturing the match 3-1.

"The team needed to have more mental toughness down the stretch," Noriega said after the game. "We had a lot of unforced errors in the last three games."

Noriega said the girls were tough on themselves after losing a few points. During practice for the rest of the week she plans to emphasize mental toughness and keeping a positive attitude on the court.

The Lady Spartans play against West Potomac on Sept. 22 at 7:15 p.m. at West Potomac High School.