Blue Devilettes can’t finish off Raiders

For a while Tuesday night it looked like Culpeper County High School might pick up its first Cedar Run District volleyball win of the season. And it appeared the Devilettes might do it in dominating fashion.

But after beating the visiting Stonewall Jackson Raiders in the first two games and taking an early lead in the third, CCHS wound up on the losing end of the final three games to drop the match and fall to 2-15 and 0-12 in the district.

"We can not keep momentum going," Culpeper coach Theresa Gore said. "I don't understand it. All we need is for one little thing to go wrong and we just drop off the face of the Earth."

The Devilettes actually trailed Stonewall 14-6 early on in the first match, but steadily rallied to tie the match 18-18 after three straight service points from sophomore Megan Chamberlin.

The Raiders took the lead back, but couldn't hold on as Culpeper scored five of the game's final six points to win 25-23. The Devilettes were in control the entire way in Game 2 and were one win away from taking the match after a 25-20 triumph, but it wasn't to be.

CCHS had a 6-4 lead in the third game when SJHS coach Matt Heyman challenged his team to step it up and the Raiders (8-11, 5-8) responded. Before long Stonewall had a commanding 16-7 lead and finished out the game with a 25-17 win.

"We've been a six-game losing streak and I asked them how they wanted to end their year," Heyman said. "I told them they had to want it more and then they really pushed hard and eliminated a lot of their errors."

Culpeper actually had an opportunity to put the Raiders away again in Game 4, getting out to a 5-1 lead behind the serving of senior Elizabeth Miller. But Stonewall managed to force a fifth game with a 25-19 victory. The Devilettes never led in the final game of the evening and lost 15-11 as Stonewall Jackson completed its big comeback.

Despite the outcome being another loss, Gore saw improvement.

"It was definitely better playing tonight," she said. "We came out strong and we just kept rotating the same lineup so it wasn't anything that we changed. I think it's just keeping focused mentally. I think a lot of it comes from being so young."

CCHS may have seen its best hope for a victory this season slip away. The Devilettes close out the regular season with games against Osbourn Park and Loudoun Valley, the top two teams in the district. Thursday's match against OPHS will be the final home match for Miller, the Devilettes' only senior.

Shane Mettlen can be reached at 825-0771, ext. 127 or