Block party: Warriors get defensive against rival Millbrook

By Tommy Keeler Jr. -- tkeeler@nvdaily.com

STEPHENS CITY -- Millbrook's Devon Courneya drilled a spike into Sherando's backline, and she and several of her Pioneer teammates began to celebrate early in the fourth set against the Warriors. The joy on their faces quickly turned to shock as they watched Sherando dig the ball out, put it back in play and win the point.

It was like that all night for the Pioneers, as the Warriors' defense helped lead them to a 3-1 (25-15, 17-25, 25-18, 25-12) win on Monday night. The victory gives the Warriors sole possession of first place in the Northwestern District.

"We never give up on a ball," Sherando junior Lauren Wilkins said. "We know we're a scrappy team. Even when they have hard hits, we're like 'This is not going to be your point. This is our point.'"

Sherando coach Chuck Ashby said that from the first day of practice he has emphasized defense, and he's really seen his team improve throughout the season. It's been one of the keys to Sherando's current nine-match winning streak.

Millbrook's bevy of big hitters -- Courneya, Gennie McGuirk and Anna Comer -- attacked the Warriors throughout the match, but time and again Sherando was able to keep the ball in play and, in the end, set up its own offense.

"Our defense was amazing tonight," Sherando setter Taylor Henshaw said. "You have to have a good defense. Our defense sets up our offense. It's really like a cause and effect. If they can get a good pass to me, we're golden."

When the Warriors can get their offense going, Henshaw has plenty of hitters to turn to. Four different players had kills, including four from Morgan Sirbaugh, in the first set as Sherando cruised to the win.

The Pioneers bounced back in the second set as Courneya, McGuirk and Ashley DeRemer each had three kills. Sherando came right back in the third set led by Morgan and Megan Sirbaugh, who combined for five kills during the set.

It appeared Millbrook might take charge early in the fourth set as it built a 5-1 lead behind a Courneya kill and two blocks from Comer. Sherando then dug out a Courneya spike and won the next point, and never looked back, while the Pioneers were left deflated.

"They dig out a lot of balls that our hitters just aren't used to seeing come back," Millbrook coach Kim Riordan said. "We try to simulate it in practice, but it's just not the same."

Sherando also does some simulation in practice of opposing teams' hitters, and the Warriors' defensive specialist Brooklyn Wilson said it helps them a lot for matches.

"I think the practice really paid off," Wilson said. "We just try to scramble and get the ball back some how, some way."

After the Warriors had frustrated the Pioneers' hitters in the fourth set, Wilkins and Megan Sirbaugh finished them off. The two combined for nine kills during a 24-7 run to close out the match, which included 10 consecutive service points from Henshaw.

"Lauren [Wilkins] and I really work well together," Megan Sirbaugh said. "We try to be leaders. In the fourth game we knew it was crunch time, and we really tried to step it up."

Courneya had eight kills and one block, while Comer had seven kills and three blocks to lead the Pioneers (14-3, 4-2).

Wilkins led the Warriors with 12 kills and Megan Sirbaugh had nine kills. Morgan Sirbaugh added eight kills for homestanding Sherando (13-5, 5-1).

The win puts the Warriors in great position to win the Northwestern District title -- they have a one-match lead over both Millbrook and James Wood with only two district matches left. While taking over first was nice, it wasn't the Warriors' main goal heading into the match with the Pioneers.

"Our main goal was just to beat Millbrook," Wilkins said. "This is the first time in my three years that we've beaten Millbrook both times [in the regular season]. It feels good to finally turn things the other way and beat them twice."