Thursday, Oct. 3, the varsity volleyball team traveled to Lexington, Va. to face the Rockbridge County Wildcats for the first time this season. Making quick work of the Streaks, Rockbridge took the game in three sets: 25-13, 25-13 and 25-11, handing a struggling Harrisonburg team their seventh consecutive loss. 

Rockbridge, a team that came out on top of the DNR prep volleyball power rankings earlier this week, has established itself as a Valley District powerhouse over the past two seasons, gaining top district finishes both years and reaching the VHSL quarterfinals in 2018. A win against Harrisonburg marked their ninth win in a row, placing a clean 5-0 on their district record and 15-1 as their overall record.

For the Streaks, who started their season 4-3 before falling into a deep hole of losses, the game placed their overall record at 4-10 and kept them winless in district action at 0-5. 

Defensively, the Streaks were unable to dig balls being hammered by Rockbridge’s middle and outside hitters, namely senior middle hitter Graceon Armstrong, the 2018 Valley District Player of the Year. Armstrong slapped down 17 kills and recorded three blocks in the match, alongside junior outside hitter Jaydyn Clemmer who tallied 10 kills and 3 aces. Sophomore setter Krissy Whitesell contributed 32 assists for the Wildcats, while sophomore hitter Grace Cauley added four kills and six aces. 

The Blue Streaks couldn’t gain much traction throughout the game, despite senior libero Abby McCollum picking up nine digs, sophomore setter Maya Waid seven assists and Amelia Mitchell four kills and three blocks. As a team, the Streaks notched just five blocks, significantly fewer than their double-digit average blocking statistics. 

After hanging within three points of the Wildcats for the first 25 points of the first set, the Streaks quickly lost their momentum as the Wildcats went on to take the game in a quick three sets. Harrisonburg’s next game will take place versus Luray on Monday, Oct. 7 in Luray, where they will look to end the losing streak before heading back into district play.

To view cumulative season statistics for the Streaks, click here. Full statistics for the Wildcats can be found here.