Things remained status quo Tuesday night in the Conference 32 volleyball semifinals.
At Hidden Valley High School, the top-seeded Titans used power at the net and power from the service line to dispatch visiting Abingdon 3-1 (25-15; 26-28; 25-18; 25-16)
A little more than two miles across Brambleton Avenue, Cave Spring knocked off Blacksburg by an identical 3-1 score {25-15; 21-25; 25-23; 25-13).
The wins set up the third meeting of the season for the Southwest County rivals Thursday night at 6pm in the Hidden Valley gym. Cave Spring will be looking to reverse a pair of regular season 5-set losses to the Titans.
Hidden Valley served up 16 service aces Tuesday night to go along with a power onslaught at the net that included a match-high 15 kills by senior Georgia Farthing to go along with 14 kills by senior Bre Lockhart, 12 by junior Annie Clark and 4 by junior Drew Freeland. Freeland, the prolific setter for the Titan hitters, put up 42 assists in the win.
Abingdon, which beat the Titans early in the season, made things interesting by winning the second set by going 28 points, but Hidden Valley was up to the challenge, rolling in the last two sets.
Nearby, Cave Spring likewise lost the second set after taking the opener, before outlasting Blacksburg 25-23 in the pivotal third set after things were tied at 23. Junior Morgan Starnes, who had a career-high 10 kills in the win, knocked down a kill for the 24th point and senior Meagan Harrison followed by serving up the set-winner.
The Knights then put things away in the fourth set by jumping out to leads of 10-3 and 14-9 before senior Piper Roe sent back a block that pushed a Cave Spring rally to 20-10. The Knights led 23-13 when Poe closed out the match with two straight kills.
Roe led Cave Spring with 22 kills and 4 blocks, while Starnes and senior Alayna Foutz each slammed 10 kills past the Bruin defense. Harrison set the table for the Knights, putting up 39 assists.
“We played the way we’re capable tonight,” Cave Spring head coach Tamalyn Tanis noted after the win. “Piper rose to the occasion and Morgan is starting to pick up her game. Now, we’ve got to go out and play Thursday night. We need to forget it’s Hidden Valley. We’ve been overthinking and struggling mentally.”
“We’re ready,” a confident Starnes added. “We know we can beat them.”
Although both teams are assured of advancing, there’s little doubt there will be a raucous, championship atmosphere Thursday night in the Titan gym.
Round three is set for the opening bell.
Bill Turner
