The girls of Episcopal High School took home the 2008 City Championship in Volleyball Saturday evening in a hard fought match against the defending champion Lady Titans of T.C. Williams High School. The annual competition between local high schools was hosted this year on the campus of EHS in historic Centennial Hall.
In a competition lasting over two hours, the Lady Titans traded spikes and digs with EHS in rallies that often left fans breathless over the demonstration of power and athleticism. EHS took the first set 25-22 but the Titans responded in the second to reverse the score and even the match. In the third set, EHS appeared to gain control of the evening, winning decisively 25-16 only to see the Titans come back strong in the fourth to even the match with a 25-19 win.
In the fifth and deciding set of this best three-out-of-five set match, the game is played to 15 points rather than 25. EHS started off strong with a disciplined attack, collecting early points and refusing the Lady Titans an opportunity to sideout and hold serve. When the teams switched sides at 8, the Titans rallied but EHSs stubborn defense refused to yield the lead. EHS went on to win the fifth set by a score of 15-6 and the match by a score of 3 – 2.
Episcopal will hold the city trophy until next fall when St. Stephens/St. Agnes, Bishop Ireton, TCW and defending champion EHS will again meet in a friendly rivalry to establish Alexandria volleyball bragging rights. The city girls high school volleyball championship was first held in 2005 and was won by the Saints of SSSA. In 2006 and 2007, the championship was won by the Lady Titans of TCW.
The 2008 Championship EHS team was led by the multi-talented Mary Foran, who powered the offense with 26 kills and 12 digs. The quarterback of the team, setter Caroline Moncure, ended the evening with 22 assists, loading balls into the killing machine of Foran and middle blocker Breanna Jones. Jones picked up 12 kills of her own and led the squad with 8 blocks against a powerful Lady Titans frontrow. Other key members of the championship squad included defensive specialist Claire Channell and right side players Sara Shiels and Sarah Dillard. Injuries forced EHS to play the match without veteran outside hitter Katelyn Halldorson and newcomer middle hitter Chelsea Summers. To bring the roster to full strength, head coach Mike Petock called up Elizabeth Henderson and Corina Benitz from the EHS Junior Varsity. The assistant coach is Molly Pugh and Kira-Lee Jones is the teams manager.