The Rising Sun volleyball team showed it's not suffering from triskaidekaphobia – fear of the number 13. On Friday the 13th, the Tigers won the 13th region title in school history by sweeping Kent Island 25-6, 25-6, 25-14. "I'm super excited because this is the first time we won [the region title game] in three sets," said Rising Sun junior outside hitter Lacey Swartout. "Last year it went to four games and the year before we went to five [games} and it was pretty stressful. I'm so happy with how my team played. They did a great job." Rising Sun coach Rich Wilson was pleased his team bounced back after a subpar performance two nights earlier. "We played so poorly against North East," he said. "This was probably a pretty good game for us. So we stayed focused except for that one stretch in the third game. Our serves stayed good. Our setting and our hitting and passing all stayed on track. So from that standpoint, it was probably a pretty decent game. We had a so-so week of play." Swartout also saw vast improvement. "We were communicating way better than we did [against North East]," she said. "Our communication was a little off that day. [Friday night[ we brought it back. Thursday in practice we had a huge talk and we all communicated. The passing was pretty great and our kills were just fantastic." Breanne Haley led the Tigers (16-1) with 15 kills and Swartout added 10 and two blocks. Mackenzie Blevins recorded five kills and 25 assists. Sarah Williams had 24 service points including 15 straight to start the second game. Williams began the season as the starting setter before sharing time with Blevins when the Tigers experimented with a 6-2 system. Blevins served as the setter for the last two matches. "I think what it has done is it has made, from an offensive standpoint, everything a little more dynamic," said Wilson. "[Blevins] can spin and hit the ball which adds a new dimension. When there are two hitters and her in the front row, she automatically becomes an extra attacker. I think what I'm seeing on the team is they're gaining a lot of faith in her as a setter. We were running a 6-2 (with both Blevins and Sarah Williams setting) for a few weeks now and her play has been up and down. But I think now that she's been setting these last two matches, I think what I see from the hitters is they're really settling into a groove with her. They know what to expect so they can pay more attention to what they need to do rather than be guessing." Rising Sun advances to the state semifinals for the third straight season where it will play Liberty Thursday night, November 19, in Ritchie Coliseum on the campus of the University of Maryland. The Tigers are seeking a third state title and first since going back-to-back in 2006-07. Rising Sun was swept by Oakdale in last year's state title match, but Wilson believes this fall's squad is better equipped to end the season with a win in the November 23 title match. "I think we're stronger all the way around," Wilson said. "Obviously, we've got mostly the same personnel back with a year's experience behind them. In any sport, that means a lot. They know going into College Park what it's like. They know what the gym is like. They know what the atmosphere is like. They kind of know what to expect. Hopefully, we can practice a little bit sharper knowing that." Swartout and classmate Maddy Eckerd agree that experience will be key. "The experience will calm down our nerves but it's still pretty exciting," said Swartout. "I think since we've been there before, we'll know the gym. We know what the gym looks like and how the crowd will be. So we'll be able to expect what happens." Said Eckerd: "The venue is insane. The energy. The crowd. All of the fans. I think we'll be better prepared for it this year. We watched the video of [last year's state final] a couple weeks ago and we were like, 'Oh, my gosh.' We're hitting better. We're passing better. We have so much more consistency and I feel like that's going to take us all the way." Comments are closed.
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