Sports

Volleyball: Cougars Continue Win Streak During District Play

Oakton defeats Centreville in three sets

When Coach Steve Drumm took the helm of the Oakton High volleyball team in 2007, the Cougars hadn't won a Concorde District game in years. Nor would they until 2009.

Now the Cougars are positioning themselves as a force to be reckoned with in district play, having won their last three games in a row — all fellow Concorde District teams — including Centreville in last night's game, in which they swept all three sets.

The last two games of the season are also against district opponents, Westfield and Robinson, both of whom defeated the Cougars earlier in the season during tournament play. At that time, injuries and other circumstances had sidelined some of the team's strongest players and Drumm knew his team had more talent than their record indicated.

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"Coming into district play we were 8-11 and I think everyone had kind of written us off," Drumm said. "But I knew we were talented. We just kept saying, don't worry about the matches, let's just get to district play."

On Thursday, the Cougars played the Centreville Wildcats — in just their second home game of the season because of gym repairs — with confidence coming off six straight set wins in the last two games.

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They started the first set ahead 2-0, but the Wildcats quickly tied it. After trading the lead for a couple plays, the Cougars finally took the lead for good after going ahead 5-4. They won the first set 25-19.

The second set did not go as smoothly for the Cougars. After starting out 4-1, they lost the lead for 12 plays, the longest stretch of time in the match where they did not hold the lead. But once they pulled ahead, they dominated the rest of the set with a 25-18 win.

The third set saw the Wildcats take the first point, but the Cougars quickly pulled ahead and didn't look back, winning the third set with the tightest score of the match 25-22.

Captains Emma Olson and Kelsey Wildman, both returning All-District players, helped the Cougars to victory with leadership and heart, throwing themselves into the game without inhibition.

Wildman has been on varsity for three years, previously playing as a middle blocker. Now she's an outside hitter and Drumm could not be more pleased with her transition.

"All she's had to do for the last three years is block and hit, block and hit," Drumm said. "She has transitioned to the outside and done an amazing job. She's got to pass, she's got to play defense, she's serving tough. She's by far MVP of this team so far."

Drumm is confident heading into the last two games of the season.

"I think we're playing some very good volleyball. We're peaking at the right time, so I think we have a great shot," he said.

The Cougars will travel to Westfield for their next game at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday.


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