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Conde glad for Richmond return
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By Jeremy Stafford -- jstafford@nvdaily.com
STRASBURG -- One more point, that's all Strasburg needed.
One more point to send Northumberland home disappointed; one more point to return to the state tournament semifinals at Virginia Commonwealth University; one more point to finally get that rematch with Gate City the Rams have been thirsting for ever since their 3-0 loss to the Blue Devils in last year's Group A state final.
But even after scorching through the Bull Run district tournament, as well as the Region B tournament, the Rams' thoughts have always been focused not on the future, but the here-and-now.
That is until, with that final point still remaining to be scored in the state quarterfinals Tuesday, Northumberland coach Bonnie Swann called a timeout, and the Strasburg gym resonated with a booming cry: "V-C-U, V-C-U."
"When the crowd started cheering V-C-U at the end ... I couldn't believe it," Rams senior hitter Stephanie Conde said. "I'm still in shock about it -- I'm so excited."
After winning a state championship as a sophomore, then playing in the state final last year as a junior, the return to Richmond, for Conde, hasn't gotten old -- not even the third time around.
"I don't know how to explain it in words what it felt like," Conde said of playing at VCU for the first time. "We wanted to do it again, and it's awesome going back for all three years -- we're going back to VCU, and it's hard to believe that me and Jenna [Smoot], all three years that we've been on varsity, it's hard to believe [we're going back]."
As she spoke, Conde smiled and laughed, repeating the letters V-C-U over and over, as if she still needed convincing that she and the Rams are still in contention for their second state title in three years.
Indeed, the memory of the 2007 state championship still burns brightly in Conde's memory. She remembers cheering on then-senior Katie Baker as she unleashed 33 kills on Gate City. Conde remembers screaming and roaring as her revived and revamped Rams fought back from a 2-1 deficit to take the championship 3-2.
"I didn't really play that much that year, but I was always there cheering for Kaitlin [Smoot] and Baker and all the seniors," said Conde, who credited Kaitlin Smoot and Baker with piquing her own interest in volleyball. "They were awesome and we were really close as a team. When they left, we were all real bummed to see them [go]."
So forgive Conde if she doubted, if only for a short while, that Strasburg would make it back to VCU in 2008. Forgive her if she believed that the loss of Kaitlin Smoot and Katie Baker, and the other five Strasburg seniors, was too much to overcome, and if her transition from sideline supporter in 2007 to veteran leader in 2008 made her nervous. She was only thinking naturally.
But after suffering early-season losses to Sherando and Musselman last season, the Rams rattled off 20 consecutive wins before losing 3-0 to Wilson Memorial in the Region B final. Suddenly Conde began to believe, and after a 3-0 sweep of Mathews in the state quarterfinals, the improbable occurred, and Conde returned to VCU for the second straight time.
Because what the Rams lost in power, from Baker's graduation, they made up for in depth and variety. Setters Lauran Agnew and Jaclyn Ayers were both capable hitters, and Conde and Jenna Smoot could kill a ball from anywhere on the court, though both tended to stay primarily on the front row.
But even though the 2008 season surpassed Conde's expectations, that state final loss to Gate City was no easier to take.
And so following the loss, Conde worked to improve, and worked to win a second state title. She spent hours sprawled on her bed, repeatedly setting balls toward the ceiling; and she stood outside of her house, bumping passes off its facade. She went to a camp at Virginia Tech and refined her hitting approach, and she took in the full mechanics of how to blast a kill and the variety of other ways to score a point.
"Last season, she just wanted to pound the ball, and it would go off the back wall," Rams coach Suzanne Mathias said. "But now this year she's really matured and seen that you don't have to kill it every time to change the momentum.
"She can roll the ball to the center and get a kill and change the momentum, so for her, that's a big growth."
Agnew, too, has seen an exponential maturation in Conde since last season.
"Stephanie has definitely improved," the junior setter said. "She's got her timing down with her hitting now, and she knows, when it's a bad set, to roll it or to nail it as hard as she can.
"She can read the court better, and definitely reads the holes."
And then there's Conde's serve, the one which scored an ace and secured that final point against Northumberland, and which tossed Strasburg back to the final-four weekend at VCU.
Because of shoulder problems and a lack of time on the back row, Conde didn't have many opportunities to showcase her serve last season. But this year, in a midseason rotation change which placed Conde on the back row opposite Smoot, Conde's serve has become one of Strasburg's strongest assets.
What's interesting, though, is that Conde doesn't use her dazzling, bending jump serve as a first resort, especially when the score is close. Instead, she lobs her first couple serves over the net, keeping them safely in play. No use in giving up a slim lead because of a silly service error.
"I always look at the score, and if we're up by a lot then I might take the chance," she explained, "but I always like to get the one over first ... and then if we're up by a good amount, then I go for it."
And so, at noon today, Strasburg will once more face Gate City at VCU's Siegel Center, this time in the state semifinals. The young Blue Devils sport only two seniors, but finished their regular season 17-1 -- their only blemish being a loss to Sullivan Central in five sets.
And for Jenna Smoot and Conde, the only remaining players from the state championship Rams, the past two seasons have been nothing short of surreal and memorable.
"It's really fun to be on this ride with Stephanie," Jenna Smoot said. "She and I are the only links back to the state championship team and so ... we knew we had to come in and really step up and be leaders. [Conde] works really hard at it, and all the success she's gained is warranted, and it's really nice seeing her coming out here and succeeding and playing her best volleyball possible.
"She's one of my best friends, so to share this ride with her and to share the past three years with her has been very special."
But as fun a ride as this past season has been for Strasburg, the largest climb has yet to be made, and should the Rams ascend to the very pinnacle of their season, it will surely be a magnificent trip coming back down.
"It's going to be a fun ride, and it's going to feel like forever to get to Friday," Conde laughed. "I think we're ready for it, we know we've been [prepared] ... and we're going to be ready for Gate City."
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