Football Top 10 — Week 4

No. 1 Westfield is One of Three Northern Region Teams to Remain Undefeated; Centreville Re-Joins the Top 10 for the First Time Since Our Preseason Poll

1. Westfield (4-0)
    Previous ranking: 1
    Last week: defeated Chantilly, 28-16
    Up next: at No. 7 Robinson, 7:30 p.m. Friday
2. West Potomac (4-0)
    Previous ranking: 3
    Last week: defeated Lee, 31-7
    Up next: at Hayfield, 7:30 p.m. Friday
3. Chantilly (3-1)
    Previous ranking: 2
    Last week: lost to Westfield, 28-16
    Up next: at Herndon, 7:30 p.m. Friday
4. Stone Bridge (3-1)
    Previous ranking: 4
    Last week: defeated Loudoun Valley, 49-7
    Up next: at McLean, 7:30 p.m. Friday
5. Madison (4-0)
    Previous ranking: 5
    Last week: defeated South Lakes, 40-6
    Up next: at Thomas Jefferson, 7:30 p.m. Friday
6. West Springfield (6-1)
    Previous ranking: 6
    Last week: defeated Hayfield, 47-7
    Up next: versus Annandale, 7:30 p.m. Friday
7. Robinson (3-1)
    Previous ranking: 7
    Last week: defeated Anacostia, 41-14
    Up next: versus No. 1 Westfield, 7:30 p.m. Friday
8. Edison (3-1)
    Previous ranking: 8
    Last week: defeated Mount Vernon, 48-28
    Up next: at Wakefield, 7:30 p.m.
9. Langley (3-1)
    Previous ranking: 10
    Last week: defeated Marshall, 21-14
    Up next: versus Oakton, 7:30 p.m. Friday
10. Centreville (3-1)
    Previous ranking: NR
    Last week: defeated Herndon, 24-0
    Up next: at Fairfax, 7:30 p.m. Friday

Straight Down the Line

Centreville Senior Outside Hitter Kelly Brugger Goes to Her Favorite Hit to Help Wildcats Lower the Boom on the Bulldogs

There is an entire
website — pre-wrap.com — devoted to promoting the benefits of using
pre-wrap, the pre-taping foam that was first brought to athletic
events by trainers in order to protect skin from sticky tape, as a
headband instead. It sells in 11 different colors, and promises not to
slide during athletic play.

Centreville senior Kelly Brugger
has picked up on the trend and chose orange for Tuesday night’s match with visiting Stone Bridge, a
color that certainly stood out amidst her dark brown locks and the
Wildcats’ and Bulldogs’ blue uniforms.

But the talented outside hitter needed no help garnering attention.

Brugger was spectacular in leading Centreville to a 28-26, 25-22, 19-25, 25-21 victory over Stone Bridge, firing balls with equal precision cross-court, down the line and from the back row. It was a blistering hit from the left side that went straight down the left line — a far more difficult shot than going cross-court — that accounted for her match-high 18th **** of the night and put the Wildcats ahead, 24-21, in the deciding fourth game. “I like the line shot best and in the end I guess I really put that one away, which was so nice” said a smiling Brugger, one of only two seniors on Centreville’s roster. “It was a long, hard match but we kept working together and just having fun out there. No matter the situation we’re always out there cheering for and talking to each other. We bust our butts out there every time, but we have a lot of fun, too. Especially when we win.”

Centreville senior outside hitter Kelly Brugger adjusts her orange pre-wrap –which she converted into a headband — between games.

The Wildcats
(6-1) have done plenty of that recently. After dropping its first match
of the year to Princess Anne at the Ukrops Showcase tournament in
Richmond, Va., Centreville has rattled off six consecutive victories.
Tuesday’s win over Stone Bridge (5-4) didn’t come easily, however, as
the Bulldogs’ young but scrappy team engaged the Wildcats in long
volleys and aggressive play.

“I love to watch games like this,” Centreville Coach Ken Moser said. “You know when [Coach] Jill Raschiatore comes
in with Stone Bridge that she’s going to bring a team. It doesn’t
matter who she’s lost or who she brings, you know you’re in for a
battle.”

Stone Bridge jumped to a 20-14 lead in the first game, but back-to-back aces by Centreville senior middle blocker Allie Vandivier
(seven kills) got the Wildcats rolling. They closed the gap to 22-21
with Vandivier serving, and the two teams then exchanged points until a
**** by junior outside hitter Allie Darling from the left side gave Centreville a 27-26 advantage. Junior outside hitter Sara Reeves put the first game away with an ace on game-point.

The
second game proved just as close as the two teams stayed tied nearly the
entire way, from 4-4, to 10-10, to 19-19 and 22-22. But again it was
the Wildcats who took the game’s final three points on a combination
block by Brugger and junior middle blocker Michelle Jenkins, a Bulldog error and another game-ending ace, this one by senior setter Sammy Hunt (33 assists).

“We’ve
been working through a lot of rotations in practice, and I think it
helps that we played in the showcase,” Moser said. “Most teams are only
about three or four games into the season, but we’re on our seventh
match already. So we’ve worked on our rotations and really
melding into a team no matter who is out on the court.”

Stone Bridge controlled the third game from start-to-finish with exceptional play by freshman outside hitter Amanda Miller (14 service points), senior libero Natalie Driskill (23 digs), senior outside hitter Meghan Demartino (13 kills) and junior setter Lily Vera (28 assists).

	But Centreville proved too strong in the fourth and final game, rallying from an early, 10-5 deficit to knot the score at 11. The Wildcats, who got great defensive play by senior libero Jackie Moot, took the lead for good at 13-12 when Brugger finally capped a long volley with a cross-court shot from the left side. She put the game away with her hit down the left line 20 plays later. “I’d rather have games like this every night than ones where either you aren’t challenged or you get totally blown away,” Raschiatore said. “It was a good match; good volleyball. The bottom line is they put more balls down than we did. Defensively we’re pretty scrappy, but we have to be able to finish the plays. We get into a long of long volleys, but we can’t just wait for the other team to make a mistake. We have to have someone who can step up and put the ball down.” Raschiatore said she was pleased with the improved play of middle blockers Christine Beckham, a freshman, and Sarah Norton, a junior, after she and assistant coach Jen Wilson decided it would be best not to try to quick-set the inexperienced hitters. “We changed our middles this week and decided not to give them anything quick, because it wasn’t really going down,” Raschiatore explained. “So we decided to just go with high balls in the middle and pound away, and it was totally effective. We did a little bit more of that tonight … and maybe should have done even more. But they’re definitely starting to come into their own.” So, too, are the young Wildcats.
Bulldog freshman Vanessa Paige prepares to serve.

“You’ve got to love our aggressive tendency to swing at a ball,” Moser
said. “It’s my favorite thing about this team. I mean, we’re going to
swing all day long. And I love that. It should make for a very fun
year.”

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