Girls volleyball, 10/20: James River 3, Cosby 1

by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond
slewis@digitalsports.com
(804) 240-2191

Tougher Dominion District, tougher James River.

The Rapids' girls volleyball team is on its way to an unbeaten district mark after a four-game triumph over Cosby Tuesday night.

James River, ranked first in the latest DigitalSports Top 10, is now 11-0 in the district, 17-2 overall.

Fifth-ranked Cosby dropped to 7-3, 14-4, but stole the first game from the visiting Rapids 25-22.

Reigning player of the week Jessica Melhorn (10 kills, 16 digs), Abigayle Holt (31 assists) and Morgan Dowdy () got things going early for the upset-minded Titans.

But James River quickly righted the ship winning three straight sets, including a dominant 25-14 third game that displayed a plethora of weapons.

Cassie Stergar (18 kills, six blocks, six digs), Taralyn Barnette and Carol Pyszkowski are all taller than any Titans and dominated the net.

Kate Darlington used her powerful outside hitting (10 kills) and jump serving (five aces) to provide yet another weapon that setter Julia Cushman (40 assists, 11 digs) could feed for the Rapids.

"We've had better players individually," James River coach Micah White said, in his last season coaching the Rapids. "But this is a better team, top to bottom."

It's not back to the drawing board for Cosby.

"A positive thing is that we played a lot better than the first match," Cosby coach Megan Edwards said of Cosby's first loss to James River, also in four games. "And we still didn't play as best as we could."

James River had places to go after the match. The girls bolted out of Cosby's immaculate gymnasium to see their boys volleyball team finish off new No. 1 Cosby.

Coach White, a talented comedian, had a show after the match. They hope to bolt to region and state success just as quickly.

"There was a rough beginning in the first game when we lost," Cushman said. "We're excited to get ready for this district tournament, region tournament and hopefully states."

James River 22 25 25 25
Cosby         25 19 14 21
Records: James River (11-0, 17-2); Cosby (7-3, 14-4)