By Angela Watts
Assistant General Manager, Washington D.C.
** Click on the links to the left, above the video, to find a photo gallery and dozens of highlights from Tuesday's Virginia AAA state quarterfinal match.
Chantilly junior defensive specialist Joanna Powers admits that she and her Charger teammates got a little intimidated watching visiting Hanover -- and senior outside hitter Kristin Carpenter -- warm up for Tuesday night's Virginia AAA state quarterfinal in Chantilly.
Carpenter, who is a high-flying and powerful hitter despite her small, 5-foot-7-inch frame, is one of the nation's top recruits and will officially sign next week to play at No. 1 Penn State next fall.
"I know that right before the game we kind of freaked out," Powers said, laughing. "We were so excited just to touch her, ya know. But then, we also all wanted to go in there and just dig up her balls and be like, 'That's our thing: We're going to touch every ball that she hits.' "
The Chargers didn't quite accomplish that goal, but they did achieve the only goal that truly mattered: Advancing to the Virginia AAA state semifinals for the first time in school history. Chantilly (27-0) did so with an impressive 25-21, 25-21, 25-23 sweep of Hanover (20-4).
"Our goal is always to surpass our past successes," said Charger junior outside hitter Samantha Reeves, who registered a team-high 10 kills. "And we did it! And to do so against a team like Hanover, that was remarkable. They're whole team contributes and they're all really good, but [Carpenter], oh my gosh, she is fan-tas-tic. Just watching her play and playing on the other side of the net from her was so great.
"But we just wanted to come out and do our best ... and we played very well. Our team, we all mesh really well together. And I think that's what it comes down to -- how long we've played together and how much we rely on each other out there. It's a total team effort."
Carpenter certainly shined throughout the match, registering 11 digs and a match-high 23 kills that were a crafty mix of hard-lined shots, well-placed tips and blistering aces. But it was the collective play of the Chargers that ultimately won out.
Chantilly got superb defensive play by Powers and junior libero Laura Misiewicz, beautiful sets by juniors Andrea Linte and Emily Wright. It had timely blocks and kills by sophomore middle Christy Harper (nine kills) and junior middle Allison Williams (nine kills) and consistent hitting by junior outside hitters Reeves and Jamie Gorman and senior Jessica Cooper.
The Chargers advance to the state semifinals at VCU's Siegel Center on Thursday at 5 p.m. They will face Northwest Region champion Albemarle (24-3) with a berth in the state final on the line.
"We had a great season," Hanover Coach Wendy Wadsworth said. "Kristin has taken this team on her shoulders; she's the heart-and-soul of what we do. And she played phenomenally all through regionals and the first round of the state tournament here ... we just didn't have the rest of it tonight.
"The different was their defense and their blocking. Everything we hit came back. No matter what, it just came back. And their middles -- they're so pretty to watch. If one is better than the other then I don't know which it is. And even when they had a missed play it still came back over the net with some pace on it, not a free ball. They just keep coming at you and coming at you. Every time we had a little momentum going it was shut down.
"Kudos to them. They're a great team and I'm expecting them to do well in the state tournament."
Email: awatts@digitalsports.com