Maggie Murphy (11) and E.A. Lafoon go up to block Rachael Goss' offering in Godwin's 3-1 victory. Goss (below) led Forest Park with 14 kills.
Rachael Goss, only a sophomore, registered 14 kills, which could have been 20 or more had it not been for outstanding Godwin defense.
by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond
WOODBRIDGE - The best offense is a great defense.
Just ask Mills Godwin's girls volleyball team as libero
Alyssa Foster led the Eagles to a 3-1 win over Forest Park in the state Group AAA quarterfinals Tuesday night.
Godwin advances to the semifinals to face Langley Thursday at 7 p.m. at VCU's Siegel Center. The Northern Region champion was a 3-0 winner over Princess Anne.
But before the Eagles could do that they had to contend with a taller, more powerful Bruin team led by twin sophomores
Rachael and
Kellie Goss. They were up to the task as Foster and Co. digged would-be kills like their lives depended on it.
"She got balls up I didn't think anybody could get up," Eagles coach
Jason Garrett said of the VCU-bound Foster. "That's our success right there, playing defense."
It was never more evident than in the third game.
The teams split the first two stanzas 25-18, before Forest Park, the Northwest Region champion, erased a 19-14 deficit to take a 24-23 lead, looking to take a stranglehold on the match.
The Eagles knocked down not one, two, three or four, but five consecutive Bruin game-points before taking a 30-28 game three win.
"The third game was an important one," Bruins coach
Dan Jones said. "We had the advantage most of the time. We had multiple opportunities but couldn't put them away."
Said Garrett: "In that third game it looked like Forest Park had all of the momentum. Our girls fought all they could. We knew that we needed to win that third game."
Out of its offensive sync most of the contest, Jones' Bruins were locked in late in the third game as Virginia Tech commit
Kirsten Higareda (libero) got Forest Park's passing game on track.
Godwin's defense was, too, as Foster (17 digs),
Katelyn Meeks (nine kills, eight digs, six aces), defensive specialist
Delanie Dolan and
Meghan Meleski (30 assists) kept the ball alive and made great passes to win the long points until Godwin mustered the three-point rally to effectively end the match.
Forest Park was heartbroken from the close loss, and came out uninspired in the fourth game, going down 6-0 and then 12-6 as Jones used up both of his timeouts for the game to try to wake his team from its slumber.
"The key to that fourth game was to get off to a pretty decent start," Jones said. "That's hitting well and passing well. We did neither. We just didn't execute. Some of that had to do with Godwin."
Struggling with FP's size in the middle with Kellie Goss (10 kills, two blocks), Godwin tested the outside and found the going much better, though Rachael Goss (14 kills),
Chelsea McClure (11 kills) and
Danielle Caracciolo (two blocks) weren't easy to get past.
Meeks and the powerful hitting
Jennifer Mallard (12 kills) had few clean looks, but blasted through Bruin blocks for points regularly.
Mallard's kill made it 17-12 in the fourth game and the Eagles didn't look back, winning 25-17 to dampen the home crowd.
"They definitely were prepared to play," Jones said. "They scouted us well. They're a very deserving team. I wish them the best in the state tournament."
Mills Godwin 25 18 30 25
Forest Park 18 25 28 17
Records: Mills Godwin (21-6); Forest Park (22-4)