Riverside shows some fight in losing Virginia Class 5 volleyball final

Though the Rams ultimately came up short in the program’s first state championship appearance with a four-set loss (25-17, 22-25, 25-15, 27-25) to the Patriots, a resolve and hard-hitting apparatus in the final 2½ sets left the program feeling rewarded for its approach.

“We wanted to turn it around,” senior Natalie Carlin said. “Not just for ourselves but for our teammates.”

That selfless demeanor largely blazed the Rams’ path to Richmond. Plenty of coaches expel the value of sacrifice, but in Leesburg, the Rams never really felt as if that was the right word. There was too much buzz during the late hours in their gym and too much joy in their selfless approach to call it a burden. Cruz consistently asked his players either to take on new roles or play new positions. They always complied.

“That communication is a big part of why we click,” said sophomore Sydney Ray, who had 52 assists.

The Rams (26-1) handled Northern Virginia powers all season, with wins over Battlefield (a state finalist), W.T. Woodson, Loudoun County and Rock Ridge (state quarterfinalists). But First Colonial (27-1), which fell in five sets in the Class 5 state final last year, was a different kind of challenge.

Though the Patriots didn’t overwhelm the Rams with power or height, limited errors and nearly immaculate defense made all the difference early and powered the Virginia Beach heavyweight it to a commanding first-set win while the ball ricocheted off usually assured fists on Riverside’s half of the court.

After Cruz’s timeout, though the Rams funneled their offense through the hard-hitting trio of sophomore Gabbie Vizek (nine kills) and juniors Simone Schaefer and Brianna Holladay (15 kills each), thwacking the ball against First Colonial forearms and inducing a 14-5 run to take the second set. Though the Rams lost the third after the Patriots shored up their defense, worried looks disappeared. In the fourth, even as the Rams fell behind 20-17, fiery hits pushed the set to 25-25 before they dropped the final two points on lengthy rallies.

“I was blessed with players who love the game and truly care about one another,” Cruz said. “That kind of heart goes really far.”