THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 5, 1996 TAG: 9601030168
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAN COOLEY, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
The end of the middle school volleyball season brought the end of one streak, while another remained intact. Gone is Western Branch's hold on the Southeastern District, a domination that ended with 46 straight wins. Gone, too, is the Bruins' three-year regular season championship string.
But still alive and thriving is Western Branch's tournament title run. The Bruins ran their streak of tournament titles to five with a 3-1 win over Great Bridge in the best-of-five title match.
``We met our goal, which was to win another championship,'' Bruins coach Linda Pippin said. ``It just took a little longer to reach it.''
Great Bridge prolonged Western Branch's rights to the crown by handing the Bruins two losses in the regular season. The first came in the season opener on the Bruins' home court. Western Branch jumped to a one-game lead before the Wildcats fired back to take three straight games in the best-of-five match.
While Western Branch's perfect record came to an end, so did Great Bridge's frustrations. The Wildcats lost three matches to the Bruins in 1994 as the league's second-place finisher and tournament runner-up.
``Losing was very difficult for the girls to handle,'' Pipped said. ``I take full responsibility for the loss. We had been trying some very sophisticated things with them in practice. When we lost, we realized we needed to go back and focus more on the basics. To the girls' credit, they bounced back.''
The Bruins rebounded with four straight victories. Leading the charge was hitter Courtney Brown, setter Beth Arnett and the all-around play of Micah Snell and server Blair Forehand, the first seventh-grader to start every game in service during Pippen's tenure.
While the Bruins ripped through the district, the Wildcats began their own streak and asserted themselves as the team to beat.
Leading the Wildcat assault were hitters Jessica Hill and Ashley Etheridge, setters Kim Bousman and Hannah Russel and server Kendal Rhodes.
And when it came time for the league showdown, Great Bridge's attack held. This time, the Wildcats surprised the Bruins with a shutout that gave Great Bridge a two-game lead in the race for the crown.
The Wildcats built a 10-0 record to finish the season and take the top seed in the tournament.
The losses remained fresh in the minds of the crestfallen Bruins and Pippen said the second proved to be a turning point for her team.
``I think the kids were nervous playing Great Bridge that second time,'' she said. ``But we lost one of those games 19-17. (Because of that), the girls thought they could beat them the next time.''
And the Bruins got that next chance in the tournament championship.
First- and second-place finishes in the regular season earned the Wildcats and the Bruins (8-2) byes in the first round, as the teams anxiously awaited their fate.
Great Bridge then disposed of Indian River, 2-0, while the Bruins downed Crestwood, 2-1, in the semifinals.
In the final, Western Branch pounced on the Wildcats quickly, winning the first two games, 15-12 and 19-9. Great Bridge kept its chances alive with a 15-13 win in game three.
But the Bruins would not be stopped.
Western Branch sealed its tournament championship with a hard fought 15-11 win in game four.
Great Bridge Coach Smith attributed the loss to the Bruins' outstanding play, but still said her team's loss was hard to swallow and left them with mixed feelings.
``The girls were initially disappointed with the loss and felt they had an off day,'' Smith said. ``But they're happy they had an undefeated regular season. That's kind of nice that it happened this year because things will be split up between Great Bridge and Hickory next year.'' by CNB