Volleyball Club team takes first
Published 9:21 pm Thursday, May 5, 2016
The Nansemond Volleyball Club finished in first place at the Old Dominion Regional Championship after impressive performances at the Revolutionary Rumble a week prior.
Team 14 Blue of the NVC came in first place at the Old Dominion Regional Championship. The club started its season in December.
Robyn Ross, the club’s director, was excited about the group’s performance.
“I directly coached team 14 Blue, but I’m proud of all the girls’ performances,” she said.
The 14 Blue victory came after impressive showings by three of the club’s teams in the 14th annual Revolutionary Rumble, held a week earlier. All teams playing in the Revolutionary Rumble were guaranteed seven matches, with 36 teams participating.
Teams 14 and 15 did especially well, with 15 finishing 15th and 14 Blue finishing third in the Rumble. Team 14 White finished 19th. Rachel Wingfield led the team in assists and aces during that event.
The Old Dominion Regional Championship, held at the Hampton Roads Convention Center, was the last contest of the year for NVC. On April 30 and May 1, all three teams competed to see if they could keep up the energy they had accrued a week earlier.
Team 14 blue was able to sustain that power, led once again by Wingfield, who had 91 assists, seven kills and 18 aces. Team 14 Blue wound up with a record of 5-0, never dropping a set. A lot of teammates contributed to 14 Blue’s success, including Liz Reese, who led in kills with 42, and Livian Matthews, who led the team with 26 aces.
“It was an emotional moment at the regional championship,” Ross said. “Everyone was excited to win, but being that it was the last game, that took over the celebration.”
Ross was also proud of the team’s performance at the Revolutionary Rumble.
“I expect the same thing every season — that they work very hard and get better,” she said.
Upon winning the championship, Ross knew her girls could succeed but it wasn’t until afterwards that reality set in that this team wouldn’t play together again until the following season. A lot of the players come from different schools and this would be the only time that they would play together.
“We didn’t talk too much after the game,” she said. “It was a tender moment, because that was it. We were happy and sad, because we grew together as a team and then it was over.”
The Nansemond Volleyball Club will resume play next season.