by Joe Lavoie ’14

Having six seniors graduate appears to be no major obstacle on a road to success for Coach Brian McCarty’s varsity volleyball squad, who are 11-0, and will face Blake tonight at home. The Lady Warriors returned 6’ 1″ senior outside hitters Alex Holston and Dominique Parker, along with their setter, senior Maddie Moyer. The two-time repeating state champions have had an impressive season so far, but are still training for a coveted third state championship. The Lady Warriors have a 48-match winning streak, last losing in October of 2009 to Wootton. Over the course of the past three years and 48 games, the Lady Warriors have only conceded five sets.

“Losing some seniors from last year, we’ve also lost some vocal leaders,” said Holston. “Now it’s up to us to pick the team up when we’re down and keep us up when we are up.”

Juniors Makayla Roy and Natalie Sebeck stepped up early in the season with 60 and 43 kills, respectively, through their first 11 wins of the season, filling the hole left by outside hitter by Parker, who was forced to sit out the first seven matches due to an ankle injury. “Playing without Parker was difficult because she brings so much to our team,” said McCarty. “She is a force at the net, can play all three front row positions, and brings a ton of energy and enthusiasm to the court.”

McCarty has restocked for the future while still putting a championship-caliber team together, with sophomores Kaleigh Homer, Kerra Terado and Dalton Sanchez, along with freshman Ariella Rodriguez, as the faces of the program for years to come. Juniors Kasey Rosen, Becky Geller and Rae Harrison all played valuable roles throughout the season. Rosen has been what the Warriors have needed from the serving line, averaging 1.1 aces per set; in addition, Geller is averaging 1.4 digs per set, in limited appearances from both players.

On Monday, the Lady Warriors defeated 13-3 Richard Montgomery 3-0 (25-19, 25-14, 25-10), who the Lady Warriors defeated last season in the state semifinals. The Rockets jumped on the Warriors quickly and took a lead in the first set. The Lady Warriors stormed back with a fury of kills by Holston and Roy. In the semifinal last season, the Rockets took a set from the Warriors, though, one of the few they lost the entire season.

The Lady Warriors, ranked number 1 by the Washington Post in the metropolitan area, will not have an easy road to Ritchie Coliseum. They will face the Washington Post’s seventh-ranked Damascus squad next Wednesday on senior night, when captains Holston, Parker and Moyer will play their last regular season game in Sherwood’s gym. Also, the Lady Warriors may have to face a consistently strong eighth-ranked Arundel squad from Anne Arundel County, who they beat  in last year’s state championship.

“Our final games of the season are against some really tough competition, which I love,” said McCarty. “It will really push us to reach our highest levels of play and see if we are ready to be mentally tough come playoff time.”