Volleyball team falls to Osbourn Park

The Cedar Run District is home to big-time volleyball. And on Thursday, Osbourn Park came to Culpeper and showed the Blue Devilettes why they're the defending champions.

The Yellow Jackets (19-1, 14-0 Cedar Run District) played strong at the net to defeat CCHS in three games, 25-14, 25-13, 25-11.

It was Senior Night, and a youthful Culpeper team honored its lone 12th-grader, Elizabeth Miller. Banners and signs covered the walls in the gymnasium, one proclaiming that it was "Miller time".

Instead, it was the Yellow Jackets' front line that took control. Carly Fleming led an aggressive attack that kept the Devilettes (2-16, 0-12) guessing with a mix of thunderous spikes and gentle hits.

"We've been working on our offense to hit hard, hit hard and then all of a sudden take some speed off, so you have defenses backed up to play the perimeter," Osbourn Park coach Kate Southcott said.

It worked perfectly against CCHS. Osbourn Park stayed on the attack most of the evening, preventing the Devilettes from developing any kind of rhythm. In fact, Culpeper managed to score more than two consecutive points twice the whole night, while the Yellow Jackets had five runs of at least six points.

"That's a matter of being young," CCHS coach Theresa Gore said. "We've got a lot of youth. The more they play, the smarter they play."

That youth was reflected in the rosters. Osbourn Park had five seniors. Culpeper had Miller. The Devilettes also have six sophomores in their regular rotation. And that inexperience sometimes causes the CCHS players to psych themselves out before a game.

"It's mental," Miller said. "That's all it is. We just need to think about the future. …We keep thinking about the past and we don't realize it's a new game."

Osbourn Park comes from the volleyball hotbed of northern Virgina, where club teams are abundant and volleyball is a year-round sport for many players.

Gore and co-head coach Kevin Mozingo are working to develop a similar system in Culpeper, but with just one club team, the girls don't have the luxury of learning different styles of play.

"You need to have the experience of playing with other people," Gore said. "You get habits and you don't break them."

But progress is being made. For the first time during their tenure, Gore and Mozingo had enough participants to field freshman, junior varsity, and varsity teams. Enthusiasm for the sport is growing in Culpeper, and according to Mozingo, it was evident Thursday.

"(Osbourn Park) is a strong team," he said. "That's the strong team in the district and we hung in there."

The Devilettes close out their regular season tonight at Loudoun Valley. Start time is 7 p.m.

Jason Simcoe can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 166 or