After suffering their only district loss and being knocked from the region’s No. 1 ranking by Lee-Davis earlier in the season, the Atlee boys’ volleyball team was looking for a measure of revenge when the two teams faced off last Thursday night on the Raiders’ home floor.

  Atlee came into the contest ranked No. 4 in the RVC Central Region poll while Lee-Davis sat in a tie at No. 10.

  Though Atlee walked away with a 3-0 win to even the score, it was difficult to dismiss the secondary storyline of the evening.

  For the second time this month the Raiders’ players donned pink uniforms in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. However, the acknowledgment was further emphasized by the fact that Raymond Dean, father of Lee-Davis libero Wes Dean passed from cancer the day before.

  So instead of meeting as bitter rivals both teams came together prior to the match as one. “We had talked to the Lee-Davis players before, especially the one who just lost his father,” said Atlee head coach Michelle Black. “We prayed for him and dedicated the match to him.”

  Like many athletes suffering a close family loss, Dean decided to spend time with teammates which are in essence a secondary family. “We weren’t quite certain if we were even going to play today,” said Lee-Davis head coach Scott Harrison. “But Wes, he’s the ultimate team player. He wanted to be with the team, came to practice yesterday when his father passed away. It meant a lot to him.”

  Still, Atlee senior Steven Williams knew playing under such conditions would not be easy. “My buddy, Wes, who plays for Lee-Davis, I know his father died of cancer last night so I know it’s going to be a tough game for him,” Williams said.

  Though the Confederates lost, Dean turned in an outstanding performance with 19 digs and four aces. “He had a fabulous game,” Harrison said. “He had lots of aces on the serves and played great in the backcourt. We were playing for his dad so it was great; pretty much a pressure situation with all that happening.”
  Atlee got off to a quick start in the first set jumping out to a 9-4 lead capped by an unbelievable diving dig from Raiders’ libero Andrew Stanford which led to a long volley and Atlee point.

  Lee-Davis narrowed the margin to 11-8 off the service of Hank Parsley (8 kills, 5 blocks) but from there the Raiders gradually pulled away on the strength of kills from Kyle Rodgers (13 kills, 3 blocks) and Jonathan Sperlazza to take the set 25-15.

  The second set was neck-and-neck throughout the initial stages and tied 8-8 following an ace from C-fed junior Colton Powell.

  A kill from junior Michael Abbot put Lee-Davis on top 13-12 for the first time on the evening.

  But the Raiders roared back with a vengeance, going on an 8-3 run to take a 20-16 lead and force a Lee-Davis timeout that did little to slow Atlee’s momentum. The Raiders pulled out the set 25-18.

  The third set remained close throughout, largely due to service errors by the Raiders. On the night Atlee sent a dozen serves into the net or out-of-bounds. “We give the opponents 12 points, that’s half a game,” Black said. “Here. Here’s’ 12 points. We just can’t do that. We really need to work on getting our serves in well.”

  A block from Atlee’s Cody Tingler broke a deadlock at 14 and it appeared that the Raiders would pull away from there, but Lee-Davis refused to throw in the towel.

  Trailing 18-15, the C-feds reeled off three straight points, capped by a Justin Naumann block, to tie the game.

  An ace from Dean gave Lee-Davis a 19-18 lead but the Raiders provided a solid response on a drop shot from Justin Crane (6 digs, 40 assists) and a kill from Rodgers as Atlee went on to take the set and match with a 25-23 score.

  “We played hard,” Harrison said. “We had Highland Springs (currently ranked No. 2) on Tuesday and played really close. Same thing here. I think we played well. Our boys fought pretty hard.”

  Having one district loss on the season already, Black said her players knew their backs were against the wall as far as the Capital District race. “We knew we had to win to stay in it,” she said.

  For Atlee, Black was happy with the change she has seen in her team since the two squads faced earlier in the season. “We lost to them before and we had a lot of attitude,” she said. “We really worked on stuff mentally and I think they really turned it around.”

  However, Atlee’s greatest challenge comes over the next two weeks. Because of a rescheduled match, the Raiders will face a Highland Springs team that has no district losses in back-to-back weeks beginning with a home match on Wed. night.

  “They are good,” Black said. “I think it’s kind of like us last year. We got halfway through the season undefeated and people were like, ‘Whoa, Atlee’s not supposed to do that.’ Highland Springs has some really good players.”

  Harrison expects the district regular season title to come down to the three teams and the crown is still up for grabs, which should make for an exciting finish. “Quite frankly, all three teams, Highland Springs, Atlee and us, we’re able to beat up on each other so it should be pretty enjoyable.”

Lee-Davis….......................15 18 23
Atlee .................................25 25 25
Highlights: Hank Parsley (L-D) 8 kills, 5 blocks; Wes Dean (L-D) 19 digs, 4 aces; Adam Abele (L-D) 5 kills, 2 digs, 3 aces;
Justin Crane (A) 6 digs, 40 assists; Kyle Rodgers (A) 13 kills, 3 blocks; Andrew Stanford (A) 10 digs
Records: Lee-Davis 5-2 Capital, 9-2; Atlee 5-1, 11-2