It is a little out of the ordinary for the Hanover girls’ volleyball team to be mentioned in direct relation to the Capital District championship, but this season Atlee has gained all of the attention. However, overshadowed by the Raiders’ success is the fact that Hanover only has a single district loss on the season and remains a contender to win the regular season outright.

Therefore, when the Hawks traveled to Lee-Davis last Thursday there was a lot on the line because even though the Confederates are out of the title picture, they currently sit in third place and needed to solidify their position to have hopes of a post season run.

And though Hanover walked away with a 3-1 win over Lee-Davis, both teams came away showing growth and post season potential.

Regardless of the outcome, from the indications of game one it appeared the night would be a rout by Hanover.

Though the C-feds battled the Hawks to a 4-4 tie, things suddenly fell apart of Lee-Davis as Hanover went on a 14-1 run. In the stretch, the Hawks only scored two points to kills. Every other Hanover point came as the result of miscues and mistakes by the Lee-Davis team.

“I think that the first game we just maybe underestimated or got a little bit of nerves,” said Confederates’ head coach Crystal Taylor. “It was really loud in here, which is usually a good thing but I think tonight they were having difficulty hearing each other.

“That’s been a lot of what we’ve had this season,” Taylor added. “Let’s not give away points. Let’s make them earn every point. Something we’ve been working on is placing the ball if it’s a bad set, instead of swinging away at it, we just need to place it and keep it in. Just make the right moves on that.”

The Hawks went on to take the first set 25-8 but when the teams switched sides of the court so did momentum.

By eliminating mistakes and making adjustments in their serve and defense Lee-Davis jumped out to a 5-1 lead and suddenly it appeared that the Hawks were the team that was rattled.

“I think what was great was you could see adjustments that they made in game two, serving in and stuff like that and that kind of put us on our heels,” said Hanover head coach Karl Lippa.

Taylor was not surprised by her players ability to bounce back after a disheartening loss in the first set. “They have a lot of heart and are very good at adjusting,” she said. “We may not be the tallest team but we’re the team that never dies. The ball doesn’t get put down on us a lot. It was all about defense and just placement of the ball on offense.”

Most impressive was the play of Lee-Davis senior libero Jessie Cappello (2 aces, 28 digs) who was all over the court digging and returning volleys. “Jessie never lets anything hit the floor,” Taylor said. “She never gives up on the ball. She thinks every ball in the air has her name on it.”

Though Hanover came back to tie the game at 7-7, then again at 15-15 the C-feds did not fold. Kills from Allie Labons and Jamie Bombardier (5kill, 2 aces, 6 digs) bracketed Hawk miscues allowing Lee-Davis to score five straight points.
Hanover pulled back within three on a kill from Logan Majewski (12 kills, 10 digs, ace, 2 blocks) but Lee-Davis held on for a 25-20 win.

With the match tied at 1-1, set three turned into a battle and Ryane Majewski (12 kills, 11 digs, 2 aces, 3 blocks) stepped to the forefront for the Hawks. “She is my leader in every aspect,” Lippa said but also praised the work of libero Lindsay Smith. “She didn’t have as many digs as she normally has but her leadership on the court, she was constantly putting everybody where they needed to be. Ryane took care of it offensively and Lindsay took care of it defensively.”

But Hawks’ effort was matched by that of Lee-Davis’ Shelby Simmons (5 kills, 4 aces, 8 digs), who stands five foot tall. “She’s played all the way around for me,” Taylor said. “She’s got more kills this season than a lot of our girls. Being five foot tall she’s not intimidated and she will hit right through the block and if she can’t hit through it she’ll go around it.”

The set was neck-and-neck throughout but it appeared the C-feds may walk away with a second consecutive win after they pulled out to a 20-18 lead on a kill from Bombardier.

But a pair of Lee-Davis miscues joined with Hawks’ junior Morgan Lavender drilling a shot off a block, a kill from Logan Majewski and a drop shot by senior Kyla Millner to give Hanover a 23-20 lead. From there the Hawks went on to take the third set 25-21.

“I think that was the pivotal game,” Lippa said. “I think whoever took that game was going to take advantage.”

In the fourth game, Hanover came out strong breaking a 2-2 tie to score eight straight points, half of which came from Ryane Majewski on a pair of blocks, a kill and a drop shot.

Lee-Davis could do little to slow the Hawks’ momentum as they raced ahead 17-6 and went on to win the set and match 25-10.

The victory by Hanover improves their Capital District record to 8-1, setting up what could be a match to decide the regular season title when the host Atlee on Tues.

The C-feds should be favored in each of their three remaining games against Armstrong, Henrico and Highland Springs and could go into the district tournament as the No. 3 seed.

Hanover…........................... 25 20 25 25
Lee-Davis…........................... 8 25 21 10
Highlights: Ryane Majewski (H) 12 kills, 11 digs, 2 aces, 3 blocks; Logan Majewski (H) 12 kills, 10 digs, ace, 2 blocks; Mallory Moore (H) 30 assists, ace, 2 digs; Jessie Cappello (L-D) 2 aces, 28 digs; Jamie Bombardier (L-D) 5 kills, 2 aces, 6 digs; Shelby Simmons (L-D) 5 kills, 4 aces, 8 digs