Players and fans alike expected a highly competitive match when the No. 4 ranked Atlee boys volleyball team hosted newly crowned No. 1 Highland Springs on Wednesday night. However, what they got was a virtual rout as the Raiders rolled past a flat Springers squad and took the match 25-18, 25-18, 25-15, in three sets that were not as close as the scores indicate.

Highland Springs came into the contest leading the Capital District with a 5-0 record while Atlee sat a half game back at 5-1. So in order for the Raiders to stay in the race for the regular season district crown it was a game that they had to win.

As an added incentive, after holding the No. 1 ranking for mere hours earlier in the season, the Raiders were looking to pass along the feeling to the Springers who had just moved to the top slot on Tuesday.

And while Atlee came to the floor pumped and ready to play, for some reason there was no spring in the Springers team that showed little emotion from the first serve.

Atlee head coach Michelle Black did not see the Springer team she thought she would face. “I expected it to be totally different,” she said. “They had beaten Deep Run and I had a different anticipation with their team. They had problems serving and passing and we just took advantage of it.”

Senior setter Justin Crane agreed. “They were competition but I expected them to come out a little more pumped up than what they were.”

On the other hand, Atlee came into the match well prepared both offensively and defensively. “We came out and played well,” Crane said. “We ran through what we needed to do. I put up smart sets and they put the ball down.”

Atlee also did a good job of for the most part nullifying Highland Springs’ reigning district player of the year Quentin Moore, limiting him to nine kills on the night and none in the second match.

“Quentin Moore is a great hitter,” Crane said. “He hit hard and we dug him and that’s what we need to do against the good teams.”

Off the service of Crane and junior libero Andrew Stanford (9 digs, 2 aces), Atlee ran out to a 6-1 lead in the first set before the Springers regrouped to climb back within 6-4 on kills from George Greene and Moore.

But Atlee juniors Kody Tingler and Robert Chilcoat gradually began to take control of the match. In last week’s match against Lee-Davis Tingler and Chilcoat virtually disappeared but such was not the case against the Springers. Tingler turned in a strong performance all night for the Raiders finishing with 11 kills and four blocks while Chilcoat had seven kills. “Kody Tingler absolutely destroyed the ball tonight, which is what we needed him to do,” Crane said.

“Sometimes we’re on and sometimes we’re not and Justin (Crane) usually works with the people who are on,” Tingler said. “Tonight me and Robert were kind of on. Against Lee-Davis we kind of had an off game.”

Kills from Tingler and senior Jonathan Sprelazza bracketed a kill from Moore and were followed by an ace from senior Jordan Stringfellow for a 9-5 Atlee lead before the Raiders biggest bugaboo began to creep in.

While the Raiders have stepped up their as the season progressed, Black has been concerned about the high number of service errors from her squad. Against both Highland Springs and Lee-Davis, Atlee gave up 12 points to bad serves.

During one ugly stretch in the second match, the Raiders had three consecutive service errors but the points were balanced because they bracketed back-to-back service errors from the Springers. 

The Raiders managed to pull ahead 18-10 before Highland Springs began to show signs of life. Following a Springer timeout, the visitors went on a 4-1 run but it was too little too late as Atlee won the first set 25-18.

In the second match, Atlee ran out to a 13-6 lead on the strong play of juniors Kyle Rodgers (11 kills, 3 blocks) and Chilcoat, which remained the final margin as the Raiders won 25-18.

Ironically, the Springers showed the most spirit in the third set in which they suffered their worse loss of the night but they could not match he intensity of Atlee going for the kill. With Crane at service, the Raiders raced out to a 6-0 lead on kills from Rodgers, and Chilcoat as well as a block and a kill from Stringfellow. The margin then grew to 11-2 due to Springer mistakes.

The play of the night came midway through the third when Tingler went face-to-face at the net with Greene and Bryan Williams. Tingler rose for a kill only to be blocked by the Springer duo. Tingler recovered to volley the ball back, which Greene and Williams blocked once again. However, third time was the charm for Tingler as he returned the block to score a point for the Raiders.

Following another kill form Tingler the Raiders led 15-6 but the Springers rallied to make it interesting by scoring four straight points on drop shots from Greene and Moore.

But then it was the Raiders turn to go on a run, riding Rodgers’ back, Atlee outscored the Springers 5-1 for a 22-11 lead going on to win 25-15.

Even though Atlee did not get the match they expected from the Springers, no one on the team expects a similar performance when the two teams face off for a second time Wednesday night at Highland Springs.

“I think they’re going to be ready for it,” Tingler said. “They’re definitely going to prepare for it better than this one.”

His coach agreed. “I expect it to be a lot different than tonight,” Black said. 
A win by Atlee would virtually lock up the regular season title while a Springers’ victory could set the stage for a potential three-way tie between Atlee, Highland Springs and Lee-Davis.

• Note: The fact that the Atlee boys’ volleyball team wore pink as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month has not escaped national attention. Last week, Head Coach Micelle Black was contacted by ESPN Rise Magazine as part of an article the publication is doing on high school teams supporting the cause. The article is expected to hit news stands within the next three weeks.

No. 1 Highland Springs…..........18 18 15
No. 4 Atlee .................................25 25 25
Highlights: Kyle Rodgers (A) 11 kills, 3 blocks; Kody Tingler (A) 11 kills, 4 blocks; Andrew Stanford (A) 9 digs, 2 aces; Quentin Moore (HS) 9 kills; George Greene (HS) 6 kills.
Records: Highland Springs 5-1 Capital, 11-3; Atlee 6-1, 12-2