Total team effort: Without Carter, Judges roll

View larger image Skyline’s Jessica Saddler (2) is blocked by Handley’s Alex Barnett during their match Tuesday in Winchester. The Judges won, 3-0. Dennis Grundman/Daily Recommend This Print This Get E-mail News Alerts Buy Photos/Page Reprints * Breaking News If local news is breaking and you know about it: * Call Us: 800-296-5137 * E-mail Us * Upload Your Photos View larger image Handley's Anna Lehman and Megan Kish (12) both try to set a ball against Skyline on Tuesday in Winchester. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image Skyline's Jenny Norman (9) and Handley's Alex Barnett battle at the net for control during their match Tuesday in Winchester. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image Handley’s Liz Grove spikes against Skyline’s Jenny Norman during their match on Tuesday in Winchester. Handley won the match, 3-0. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image Handley's Lisa Meneau (1) jumps to hit a ball while Skyline's Lindsay Lehew tries to defend Tuesday in Winchester.

By Jerry Holsworth - sports@nvdaily.com

WINCHESTER -- Losing Dierdre Carter last week to a hip injury looked like a devastating blow to the Handley girls volleyball team. The Judges hitter had been providing Handley with double-digit kills through the entire season.

Against Skyline on Tuesday, however, the Judges used a combination of players to compensate for the absence of Carter, and defeated the Hawks 3-0 (25-16, 25-13, 25-23).

"I've stressed all season that it doesn't take just one person to be successful," Handley coach Lindsay Hazelette said. "Even with injuries, we have people that we can rely on to keep us a strong team. We put in a whole new rotation in about a week ago, and they've really made it work."

Handley started quickly in the first set, jumping ahead early, and holding the lead throughout. Alex Barnett was the driving force early on for Handley, scoring on a pair of kills to propel her Judges to a 6-3 lead.

Barnett wasn't the only Handley player to make an important contribution, and this was the trend throughout the match. Anna Lehman also provided four kills toward the Judges victory in the first set, and Semefa Tettegah scored on a kill and two aces for Handley.

The most pleasant addition to the Handley roster, however, was Liz Grove, who was moved up from the junior varsity team after Carter's injury. Grove nailed two kills in the opening set, and was a dominating presence at the net throughout the match.

"We brought Liz Grove up from the JV team and she has really responded in both of the matches that she's played in," Hazelette said. "But this was a true team effort tonight."

With the Judges leading comfortably 22-16, two kills by Lehman and an ace by Alex Bazdar gave Handley the win.

The second set was a repeat of the first one, with the Judges jumping ahead early, and steadily expanding on their lead. This time it was Grove and Tettegah who led the way, scoring on three kills each during the set. Barnett added another two kills and an ace to the scoring, and Handley pushed ahead 23-13.

The Judges finished off Skyline with a kill by Lehman and an ace by Tettegah.

During the first two sets, the Hawks had trouble answering Handley's strong play at the net, but after scoring only five kills in the first set Skyline showed signs of turning things around in the second set.

Jessica Saddler led the Hawks with three kills in the opening set, but Courtney Massey and Lindsay Lehew, who are usually top scorers for Skyline, had only one kill between them.

Lehew scored on three kills in the second set, but Massey and Saddler were only able to contribute two. The Hawks also committed seven service errors in the first two sets.
Faced with elimination in the third set, Skyline did what it has down throughout the season, it began to rally and fight back.

The Hawks sent a message early to Handley in the third set that things weren't going to be quite so easy for the Judges. Pulling ahead 6-3, Skyline fought tenaciously to hold the lead.

With Carter on the bench, Handley turned to Lehman and Grove to get the Judges back into the lead, and they responded with seven kills during the set.

That helped Handley get the lead, but the pesky Hawks made it difficult to hold. With Handley holding a 23-20 lead, the Judges watched as Skyline fought back to tie the score 23-23.

Massey made her presence felt for the first time in the match in the third set, scoring on three kills.

It was at that point, however, that Handley's two new stars came through. Grove nailed a kill, and Lehman followed with another to give the Judges a hard won set and match victory.

"I thought the girls played really well during the third set," said Skyline assistant coach Blake Pierpoint, who was filling in for head coach Lesley Detweiler who was under the weather. "I was pleased that they were able to keep their spirits up after the first two sets. They came back and played well enough to win."