Lady Cavs Break Thru To Finals March 7, 2009
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In a very real way, although I’m sure Coach Rowe and the players and the fans would never admit it, everything this season was a prelude to Friday’s state Division III semi-final game. That’s because the 2007 and 2008 seasons ended right at this stage, with a loss in the semi-final game. Almost immediately following last year’s tough loss at Paul VI school in Fairfax, the strong crop of returning players each vowed that “next year” would be different. Next year would not end with a semi-final loss.
Well, next year is here…. and next year is, in fact, different. Back at Paul VI, the second seed StoneBridge faced off with sixth seed Tandem Friends from Charlottesville. The teams met earlier in the year and SBS came away with a 20+-point victory. But the rematch started out quite differently. Tandem mostly handled the SBS press early stayed close throughout the first two quarters. Caitlyn Unsworth led the way with several key buckets and Dani Cribb added a key three-pointer to help keep SBS on top. The halftime score of 22-18 left the strong contingent of SBS fans a bit nervous as the teams headed for the break.
Coach Rowe’s Cavs started the second half determined to do two things: continue to wear down the younger Tandem team with a variety of pressing defenses… and pound the ball down low. And they did. A special set offense designed to get Sarah Tabb and Ashley Foster the ball in the post resulted in early third-quarter buckets, which translated into press-induced turnovers, and the lady Cavs were on a roll. A 20-5 third quarter roll, in fact, that essentially put the game out of reach much to the delight of Trey and the dozens of SBS students who were on hand.
It seemed as if the seniors simply were not going to be denied this breakthrough game and a trip to the finals. Ashley Foster basically took over the low post, finishing with 14 points. If it’s possible to score a “quiet” 24 points (while battling the flu!), Caitlyn U managed to do it. She has a way of making the game look easy, until you step on the court with her and try to stop her. Good luck.
One year ago after a semifinal loss, the SBS girls stood in the hallway of the Paul VI gym and determined to write a different story in 2009. A goal was set. Thanks to 12 months of hard work and determination — and a carefully planned road map set out by Coach Rowe and his staff — things are different this year. Stonebridge 53, Tandem 31.
One more game. Bring on Carlisle!
StoneBridge And Broadwater face off on Big Saturday February 28, 2009
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Five games. Three venues. Ultimately, two schools would be left standing to face off on a Big Saturday to remember in the Metro conference.
To start things off, the semi and final rounds of the JJV 8 boys and girls tournaments took place in Isle of Wight (girls) and Atlanti Shores (boys). On the boys side, StoneBridge won their semi final game whih set up a re-match with Broadwater, which had pegged SBS JJV 8 boys with their lone conference defeat earlier in the season. On the girls side, SBS’s young team extended its record to 11-3 in a thrilling double overtime victory over top-ranked Portsmouth Christian. It was sweet revenge for SBS after losing the lead and the game in overtime at PCS during the regular season. Christina Cash and Ellen Lee led the way for the Cavs in what turned out to be a 2:15 marathon that pushed Coach Cal and his team’s second game to a mid afternoon start.
By the time the girls hit the floor for their final, the JJV8 boys were putting the finishing touches on their conferene championship. Luke Unsworth and Josepth Gutshaw led the way throughout the season and are setting themselves up to be a solid inside-outside threat for SBS basketball throughout their high school careers. On the girls side, Broadwater proved to be too much but our girls continued to play hard until the final whistle. The season? A tremendous success: 11-4 record, the second place trophy in the conference tournament and a bright future for these young girls.
Coach Cal, whose day began with the trek 30 miles west to Isle of Wight for a 10am game, darted out of the gym some time passed 3pm and began the long trip to Broadwater for the boys game. Unfortunately for our boys, they fell at Broadwater, dropping them to fourth in the conference. But the day was a tremendous success, especially with two competitive schools facing off in three venues. I’m still a relative newbie to the Metro, but I can say that Broadwater is earning a fine reputation with me. Their teams always are prepared. Their kids always play hard and with respect. Their fans are cordial. I couldn’t think of a better team to face on Big Saturday.
Cavaliers Post Rare Sweep Of Fourpleheader February 21, 2009
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Dateline: Feburary 19, 2009
How much fun can one school’s basketball program have in one day? The StoneBridge Cavaliers basketball program, with players ranging from the sixth to twelfth grads, swept four games on three courts today in a rare “fourpleheader.”
The action got started with the JJV boys Metro tournament first round game in which the #1 ranked Cavs defeated Portsmouth Christian behind the solid play of Luke Unsworth and Joseph Gutworth. After a tight first half, the Cavs pulled away in the second half to advance to the second round.
Next up: the Lady Cavs JV team, which has been steadily gaining strength and building momentum. In this their last regular season game, the Cavs needed a win to secure the third seed in the conference tournament. Coach Crowe’s girls took a lead into halftime and then held off Hampton Christian’s strong charge in the second half. The hard work and commitment of these girls is paying off.
Game three: After Senior Sarah Tabb received her 1,000-point ball from Athletic Director Woolard, the Lady Cavs breezed to their 66th consecutive Metro Conference win. The Lady Cavs will have the opportunity next week to extend this remarkable streak to 69 games in the Metro tournament.
The nightcap involved a trip to Isle of Wight for a rare evening game or the JJV girls team, who entered their tournament as the 4th ranked team and were seeking to avenge an earlier loss to Williamsburg Christian. It turned out to be a defensive struggle and the low-scoring affair came down to a final defensive stop by the young Lady Cavs who advanced to the semi-finals.
Whew! Over 40 kids on three courts spread out across about 40 miles.
Lady cavs compete tough in holiday tourney December 27, 2008
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The Lady Cavs split the first two games of the Greyhounds tournament at IC Norcom, winning the first game before falling to Booker T Washington (and the refs) in Saturday’s semi-finals.
The Pilot’s coverage of Friday’s game featured a large photo of our very own Caitlyn Unsworth pulling up for two of her 17 points (photo of print edition below). After leading early, the Cavs fell behind by 12 at the beginning of the fourth quarter before closing the gap to three with tightening defense. The Cavs then induced another turnover and were ready to take the ball in with a chance to tie until the refs conferred and refersed the call. Booker T went on a run to stretch the gap back to more than a dozen.
Still, the Cavs should come away from the game with confidence. We didn’t play our best game, got into early fould trouble, had to endure some questionable refereeing in an unfriendly environment against a top 10 public school…. and were only down by three in the fourth quarter. This bodes well for the rest of the season.(Season record: 9-2)
Link to Pilot’s story on Friday’s game.
Friday’s Box:
StoneBridge 52, Norview 32
STONEBRIDGE: Unsworth 17, Rowe 8, Foster 10, Tabb 18, Wash 9. Totals: 21 6-9 52.
NORVIEW: Edwards 18, Acuna’ 2, Cuffee 1, Matthews 2, Harris 6, Payton 1, Lucas 2. Totals: 13 4-8.
Halftime: StoneBridge 35-13. 3-point goals: Edwards 2, Linsworth 2, Rowe 2
Print edition caption: Caitlynn Unsworth of StoneBridge, right, shoots over Lashay Lucas of Norview during a Lady Greyhound Classic tournament Friday. ( Steve Earley / The Virginian-Pilot )
Losses to Denbigh and Hampton Show SBS What It Will Take September 21, 2008
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Two defeats bracketing StoneBridge’s annual school retreat come early enough in the season to serve as an excellent teaching moment for a young team in transition to the conference’s top tier. “These defeats were difficult but they can serve as a blessing in disguise if we will glean the lessons we need to improve,” said coach Elliott. “Namely, in order to beat the better teams, we must start strong and compete on every point. And we’re still learning how to pick each other up after physical and mental errors.”
Game Summary: Denbigh
For a team transitioning to the upper tier of the conference, every game can provide new lessons. This game’s lesson — we cannot count on winning the match if we do not compete in the first game. The total score of the final three games was 76-76, showing that these two teams were very evenly matched. Denbigh prevailed on the strength of two-point overtime victories in games two and four. “I didn’t know volleyball could be so much fun,” said one StoneBridge parent as the two teams traded tough points in the deciding game. Credit to Denbigh — a well coached, disciplined team that competes on every point — for prevailing. But we look forward to the rematch! Ashlea Foster: 15 kills; Rachel Rowe 11 kills.
Game Summary: Hampton Christian
Hampton Christian solidified its hold on second place in the conference with a convincing victory over a young StoneBridge team that is learning what it will take to compete with the top tier teams. SBS literally lost the match on the first two service turns for Hampton in games one and two as we spotted our opponents with 10+ points which is too large of a deficit to overcome. Overall, we had 26 failed service receptions and just a 60% success rate — far below our 83% season average coming in to the game. Despite convincing losses in the first two games, SBS can take away from this match confidence that we can compete — and beat — teams like Hampton. We led the game late and had the serve at 22-22.
Dinning Helps “Serve” Up SBS Volleyball’s Fifth Win September 14, 2008
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Gamedate: 9/12/08. Even though the SBS girls varsity volleyball team clearly had the upper hand on Oaktree, the score half way through the second game didn’t indicate such. The two teams played a close game one and now Oaktree held a 15-10 advantage when Emily Dinning took the ball for her serve.
Twelve points and five aces later, SBS was back in control and on its way to a 3-0 victory. “Emily’s 12 serves changed the entire game,” said coach Elliott. “It’s something we talked about since our first practice — we need to be able to get ten serves in in a row to turn games around. And Emily did just that.” Add in Ashlea Foster’s 14 kills, Rachel Rowe’s 10 kills and seven aces, and Megan Gilbert’s eight assists and SBS was able to finish off the week 4-0 and improve its record to 5-1 (3-1 in the conference). Next up: 2007 conference runner-up Denbigh Baptist.
Once again, the JV led the way for the varsity with a victory over Oaktree. With a sweep of four games this week, the JV improved to 4-2, making this the most victorious JV volleyball team in SBS history. Congrats!
Rowe And Foster 1-2 Punch Powers Lady Cavs Over Chargers September 12, 2008
Posted by Steve Elliott in girls, volleyball.Tags: volleyball
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Rachel Rowe and Ashley Foster provided a powerful 1-2 punch as StoneBridge Varsity Volleyball defeated the Isle of Wight Chargers 3-1 Thursday at StoneBridge. Rowe (20 kills, 8 aces, 12 service receptions and 8 digs) and Foster (14 kills, 7 aces, 23 service receptions and 8 digs) kept the pressure on the Chargers with a steady diet of front-row and back-row attacks. “Ashley and Rachel seemed determined to take the game to Isle of Wight,” said coach Steve Elliott. “Especially after we lost the first game, these girls turned up the heat in a big way.”
Key Moment In Match
After winning games two and three, StoneBridge seemed to take control of game four and led 23-18. That’s when the Chargers came storming back to tie at 23. Following a time out, StoneBridge gained a side out and Rowe served the game out with an ace for the win. “That was the key moment in the match,” said Elliott. “We gained back the momentum and then Rachel ended the game quite suddenly.” Elliott knows the rematch will be a test. “We’ll face a very tough match when we travel to their court,” said Elliott, whose team continues to make progress and set new standards for the volleyball program.
As usual, it took a real team effort to put down a Chargers squad that entered the game second in the conference. Kristin Hines (17 of 17), Katie Connor (seven of eight) and libero Geli Ziegler (10 of 10) served up many key points while setters Megan Gilbert and Laura Rader provied 12 and 11 assists respectively. SBS now stands at 4-1 overall and 3-1 in the conference.
JV Victory!
SBS’s JV squad also won in come-from-behind fashion, losing the first game but then taking control of the match in games two and three. The JV also completed a first in SBS volleyball history with a 100% serving percentage for the entire match.
SBS Volleyball Teams Beat Porsmouth Christian September 10, 2008
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Following a historic victory by the SBS JV volleyballers, the varsity team made its own history as both teams defeated Portsmouth Christian for the first time. “Certainly our best game to date and a true cohesive, team effort that put us over the top in some very close, hard-fought games,” says coach Steve Elliott as SBS won 25-22, 26-28, 25-22 and 25-15 on the Patriots’ home floor.
Ashley Foster’s 15 kills and 17 service receptions led the way. Clutch serving from Kristin Hines (20 of 20), Laura Rader (22 serves in) and Megan Gilbert (13 serves in) kept SBS on the attack. Gilbert led seven players recording assists with 11. Co-captain Rachel Rowe had a fine overall game with 9 kills, 3 aces, 14 service receptions and seven digs. “Every player had a hand in this victory,” says Elliott.
Elliott was equally proud of the JV squad, which came from behind to win a close first game and then won game two for its second consecutive match victory and first ever over PCS. “In a very real way the JV inspired the Varsity tonite.”
Looking ahead, Elliott recognizes that SBS is a program in transition. “We are learning how to win,” says Elliott. “The fact is, noone is going to give us anything; we need to take hold of games and then go after the win. We did that especially well in games 3 and 4. It’s early and we have a lot of learning ahead of us.”
More on this history: prior to this season SBS varsity volleyball had won just one conference game. Now, the team stands at 2-1 in the conference and 3-1 overall. But the schedule does not let up with two more games this week.
SBS Volleyball Gets First Home Win September 8, 2008
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9/8/08 at SBS. Against an upstart program, SBS girls bounced back and played a much improved game in sweeping Faith Baptist by a score of 3-0. Ashlea Foster’s 17 kills led the way and Laura Rader’s 12 assists kept StoneBridge in control throughout the match. SBS’s return and service percentages were much higher and overall team cohesion improved as the team heads into a very busy stretch of games. Rachel Rowe added seven aces on 19 serves to go with nine kills and now leads the team with 30 aces in three games.
A Libero!
In a major development, SBS employed for the first time a libero as Geli Ziegler wore the white jersey and manned the back row. Geli was 5 for 5 in service receptions in the new role as SBS improved to 2-1 overall.
First Defeat Comes At Hands Of Alliance September 8, 2008
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9/5/08 at SBS. Rough game all around. We had trouble serving, returning, setting, etc. It’s definitely one of those games you brush off quickly and move on especially since the games will come very rapidly over the next few weeks. Credit to Alliance Christian for playing consistent volleyball. They were definitely the more comfortable team. But we left the court knowing we can compete with Alliance and beat them if we play our game. Onward! (Geli Zieger 8 of 9 service receptions, 4 of 4 serves;
SBS Varsity Volleyball Opens By Serving Up Win Over Williamsburg September 3, 2008
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9/2/08. “How about that girl with all the aces?” That’s what the Williamsburg coach said as the two head coaches looked for stats to report to the local newspapers after SBS’s 3-1 victory over Williamsburg Christian.
“That girl” was our very one Rachel Rowe, who put 40 of 42 serves in play — itself quite a feat. But when combined with the fact that half her serves went for aces, the .952 serving percentage stands out even more. But Rachel was not alone in showing excellence from the service line. SBS had seven players with at least seven attempts and each put more than 80% in play. Overall, SBS put 97 of 105 serves in the court (.924) and 29 went for aces. “In the end, our ability to get serves in and win points off the serve made the difference,” said coach Steve Elliott. “It was truly a team effort.”
Ashlea Foster led the way with 16 kills with Rowe adding 11 — supported by 17 assists by Laura Rader — as SBS held off a feisty Williamsburg team. “They are a solid returning/passing team,” said Elliott. “Not a lot of big hitters or servers, but they kept returning what I thought were some strong hits by our girls. I expect a tough rematch later in the season.”
(25-23, 26-28, 25-21, 25-17)
SBS 2008 Volleyball–Aiming High! September 3, 2008
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Here’s the highlights from the briefing we sent to the Virginian-Pilot on the 2008 SBS Girls Varsity Volleyball season….
StoneBridge volleyball took significant strides forward in 2007 and we expect 2008 to be a breakthrough year. The varsity team is led by our co-captains, Ashlea Foster and Rachel Rowe, who came to StoneBridge with strong volleyball pedigree and are elevating our program with their skill and passion for volleyball. The core of the team is young and will feature several sophomores, including two setters who started as freshmen. Our theme for the year is “cohesion” and our success will depend on our ability to feature our strongest players and develop clearly defined roles in a mix that focuses on “sticking together.” The program overall is on the rise with interest at the younger 6-9 grades extremely high.
Potential Storylines…
The interesting story here is a program that is in transition from league doormat to competitor and hopefully to the top tier. This has happened with StoneBridge basketball over the past half-dozen years and we see that we are in the midst of that same process. Enthusiasm is high. We have more girls participating than ever before. We have strong top-tier players and younger players learning roles.
Key Players…
Ashlea Foser 12 Outside Hitter 5-11 STATS
Co-Captain. Ashlea is a strong, athletic hitter with a big serve who is fiercely competitive. She led our team last year as a junior in kills and I expect her to have a big senior season.
Rachel Rowe, 11, Outside Hitter, 5-8, STATS.
Co-Captain. Rachel is a strong hitter and our best server. She is an excellent all-around player who will be asked to help lead a core of young players this year.
Laura Radar, 10, Setter. 5-4.
Laura started as a fresh man setter, is very athletic and has a bright volleyball future.
Megan Gilbert 10, Setter, 5-4.
Megan started as a freshman setter, is a fearless competitor and has much upside potential.
STONEBRIDGE GIRLS SWIM TEAM PLACES 4TH IN DIVISION II SWIMMING STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS March 3, 2008
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Five girls qualified to compete in what was touted as the toughest qualifying state meet in its 34 year history on February 15 & 16, 2008 at the George Mason University pool. Entering this meet, the team knew it was going to be hard to repeat a state title, but each swam as if they could do it. StoneBridge was represented by seniors Tiffany Going, Brittany Haskell, & Caitlin Ives, 10TH grader Rachel Peterson, and 9TH grader Lauren Keating. All five girls placed in the Top 16 in 5 of the 11 events. The flu had plague one of our swimmers and most likely kept us from being represented in the Top 16 in two more events. As it turned out, we finished with some impressive results. In our 200 Freestyle relay we had the 2nd fastest Div. II time of the State; the 200 Medley Relay placed 4th in the Div. II rankings, Tiffany Going finished the 100 backstroke with the 3rd fastest time in the state of Division II girls, and Rachel Peterson finished 1st place in the state in the 100 freestyle of Division II girls! For the three seniors, this meet concluded their 10-12 year membership with the StoneBridge swim team. In their 4 years of high school swimming, they led the program to a Runner-Up Title (2006), a State Title (2007), and now 4th place in the state (2008). These three girls will be greatly missed as they have not only contributed their talents, but their dedication and passion for excellence. They have set a standard for many other female athletes at StoneBridge as they have trained for over 110 days (9 months) throughout each the season, without a break for holidays, many times finishing practice at 11:00 PM and arising the next morning at 5:00 AM to do it again. Even more to their credit is that each of the seniors are members of the National Honor Society, which means they have maintained a combined GPA of 98%. All three will be evaluated this spring by the selection committee for the Academic All American Team by the national high school swimming organization (NISCA).
girls finish strong February 29, 2008
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the girls contended well for all four quarters but fell 41-30 in the state semis. Great effort. Had chance to win late. More later…
OK… It’s morning now and I think these girls did a fantastic job this year. Truth be told, we played the best team remaining in the tournament yesterday and we could have beaten them. Consider this: our opponent scored 92 points on Thursday and we held them to 41 points yesterday. We beat them on the boards; our defense did an excellent job of keeping them out of any rhythm.
And we came storming back in the fourth quarter. Our strong contingent of SBS fans made quite a racket which (perhaps!) helped induce turnovers by our opponent on three successive possessions — okay, the girls get 99% of the credit! We cut it to four or five with about 2:30 remaining and had the ball. A break here or there and we’re playing today in the finals.
What a great bunch of girls, and the prospects for next year are very, very strong.
Va-Pilot Story February 29, 2008
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Here’s the Va-Pilot’s story, online.
Girls boxscore:
Intro to the story:
By DAN COOLEY Special to The Virginian-Pilot For the first time, StoneBridge played host for both the boys and girls quarterfinals in the state private school basketball tournament as the higher seeds.
