Damascus and Clarksburg have had an ongoing rivalry for over 15 years, following Clarksburg’s formation and first completed school year in 2006. In regards to athletics, we tend to outperform them in the fall and winter seasons, while they have the edge over us in spring sports. The night of Monday, October 16, contained a nail-biting match between our respective volleyball teams, in which Damascus lost 2-3 following a back-and-forth fifth set. However, the scoreboard, stats, and even us at the Buzz fail to tell the entire story of the most enticing game of the season thus far, which is why we interviewed senior setter and captain Emma Baldridge to elaborate from her perspective.
The beginning of the match was a rough one for Damascus, yet the score remained close. Sets one and two were four-point losses at 21-25, which could be attributed to 11 of their 17 total hitting errors and 7 of their 12 total service errors occurring in just the first two. Moving forward, the Hornets proved capable of limiting these mistakes, which was shown in the following sets.
Set three was an emotional roller coaster that began on a peak, as senior outside hitter Avery Beall recorded two kills off of two perfectly placed sets by Baldridge to give Damascus an early lead of 2-0. However, on the third possession, while attempting to block an attack on the right side, Beall suffered a broken tibia. This was a tough watch for the fans, and surely something that could demoralize a team that was just beginning to build momentum. However, the Hornets didn’t let this discourage them, as they swung hard and won the third set 25-16.
The fourth set was even more one-sided than the third, as the Hornets won 25-14 behind six kills between outside hitters Caroline Botti and Alana Scott, assisted by Emma Baldridge who had eight assists in just the fourth.
Baldridge ended the match with 30 total assists. When asked about this stat and how it correlates to her connection with her hitters, this is what she had to say:
“I think connection with hitters has improved so much over the season. I also think we have our communication between setters and hitters which helps a lot.”
Baldridge’s setting resulted in three players finishing the game with more than six kills, and her connection with her hitters was on full display in the shortened fifth set.
Unfortunately, The Hornets fell short 13-15 and lost the match. However, they proceeded to go 2-1 in the remaining games of the regular season, which included a sweep against Seneca Valley, following that was their first playoff game against Watkins Mill whom they also swept.
Tonight, The Hornets (11-5) are on the road to face Wootton (13-2) in the second round of the playoffs. Last September, we lost to The Patriots in a hard-fought five sets and hope to avenge that loss at 5:30 tonight, buy your tickets on GoFan and show your support tonight if you can.
