Schneider, Sirbaugh lead Warriors to win

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By Brad Fauber - sports@nvdaily.com

STEPHENS CITY -- With it being Senior Night for the Sherando volleyball team on Tuesday, it was only fitting that the Warriors received a strong performance from its two senior hitters.

Brooke Schneider and Morgan Sirbaugh combined for 35 of the Warriors' 42 kills in Sherando's 3-1 (25-11, 25-17, 18-25, 27-25) victory over Millbrook.

"I came out with energy, just wanting it to be a good night and playing well as a team," Schneider said. "I wanted to come out fighting and just have a lot of energy on the court so we could all play well."

Schneider set the tone early as she recorded five of her 20 total kills during a 15-1 Warrior run in the first set as Sherando rolled to a 25-11 set victory.

Sirbaugh mirrored Schneider's stellar first-set performance with eight kills of her own in the second set. The Pioneers kept it close late in the set as they pulled within two points on a kill by senior Blake Parkes, but two aces by Schneider and two kills by Sirbaugh, including the set-winner, vaulted the Warriors to a quick 2-0 lead.

"It's been nice because [Schneider] and Morgan have been tough on the front row -- and when they're serving they've been tough," Warriors coach Chuck Ashby said. "So it's not like the [opposing] team gets a break."

Millbrook finally turned things around in the third set as they began moving the ball around and putting the ball on the floor as they recorded 11 kills as a team in the set, including four by Courtney Adams. They also held the Warriors (14-3, 5-1 Northwestern) to just eight kills after giving up 19 in the first two sets.

"We really didn't show up in the first two games -- we started playing a little better in the third and fourth game," Pioneers coach Eric Heflin said. "We started passing a little better because our passing was really off in the first two games."

After a kill by Schneider pulled the Warriors to within three late in the third set, Heflin called a timeout to calm his team and try to prevent a late-set collapse. The Pioneers responded by rattling off four straight points, grabbing the set victory on a kill by Parkes.

"[Millbrook] was blocking really well and they were digging balls because we weren't hitting them like we were the first two games," Ashby said. "We just the have the ability to kind of get down on ourselves a little harder than we should and I think we start losing confidence."

With a little momentum now on their side, the Pioneers refused to go quietly as they hung close to the Warriors for the entire fourth set. Three late kills from Millbrook's Brittany Whitacre and a kill by Nicole DeRemer tied the game at 25, but Schneider once again stepped up for the Warriors.

The Sherando senior recorded a thunderous kill to give her team a one-point lead, then stepped to the service line and delivered the match-winning ace to get the first-place Warriors back in the win column after last week's loss to James Wood.

"I was trying to look for an open spot so I could just throw the defense off a little," Schneider said. "It feels good to actually all be pumped up again and have a positive attitude, and play well as a team."