Condors took 2nd place at the NVVA Molten 14's Tournament on January 25, 2009.
The Columbia Condors finished second in NVVA/Molton 14’s Invitational on January 25, 2009. The Condors played strong volleyball compiling a 9-0 record in pool play and sweeping their play-off versus NVVA Fairfax Spartans before falling in the finals to NVVA Select in three sets (27-25, 13-25, 6-15).
In the first set of the finals the Condors finished with a 9-3 run to take a one game to none lead. Strong defensive play from Mallory Baldwin and Maddie Chervenak helped the Condors transition from defense to offense. Sarah Przybyla provided two blocks and two aces and Taylor Latimer (one kill) provided the front row play. NVVA Select took over the match in the second set with good defense and strong hitting. The deciding set saw more of the same with the Select winning the match 15-6.
In their first match of the tournament the Condors defeated Metro Atlantic 29-27, 25-18, 25-15 to begin their pool play 3-0. The first set saw both teams have 4 to 5 point runs throughout. The Condors jumped to a 17-9 lead behind the serving of Lexi White-Tourruellas (4 aces). Metro Atlantic responded with a 7-0 run to pull within 20-17. The rest of the set went back and forth and Metro Atlantic grabbed a 25-24 lead late. The Condors staved off match point at 25-26 and won the set with a 3-0 run culminating with Przybyla’s kill for set point. The second set saw the Condors establish their passing on the way to a 25-18 win. The Condors had four (4) assists with Chelsea Owensby (2), Naomi Burke (1), and Jordon Lawson (1) leading the way. The defensive play was strong with Baldwin and Chervenak providing the passing. The offense was completed by the strong play of Przybyla (3 kills and one ace). The third set was dominated by the serving of the Condors. Allison Kupiec provided the Condors with an 11-0 run early with five (5) aces. Metro Atlantic had difficulty returning the Condors’ serve and fell 25-15. The match was finalized with an overhead running bump winner by Burke.
The Condors defeated Maryland Juniors 25-21, 25-10, 25-9 in the second match of the day to run their pool record to 6-0. The first set was close until Baldwin served a 5-0 run to put the Condors up 20-18. The set was never in doubt after the run and the Condors won 25-21. The second set was more like Condors volleyball with strong serving and good passing and an easy 25-10 win. There were several good pass-set-kill combinations throughout. Alli Cable and Becca Pierce provided the passes with Latimer and Becca Pierce finishing off the points. White-Tourruellas paced the Condors’ serving with three (3) aces. The third set was more of the same with the Condors winning 25-9. Latimer paced the front row with two (2) kills and one (1) block. Owensby and Burke set the offense with four (4) and two (2) assists respectively. The victory set-up a match against NVVA Loudoun Black Team for the pool title.
The Condors finished their pool undefeated with a 25-17, 26-24, 25-22 win over Loudoun Black. The Condors and the Loudoun Black came into the match with 6-0 and 5-1 records respectively. The first set started quickly for the Condors as they took a 9-4 lead behind the serving of Kupiec’s two (2) aces. Loudoun found their way back into the set and took the lead 16-14. Burke put the Condors back in control with a 9-0 serving run which included two (2) aces. The Condors never looked back and finished the set 25-17. The defense and passing were paced by Cable and Chervenak. The second set started the same way with Kupiec serving the Condors to a 7-4 lead with three (3) aces. Loudoun Black fought back and led 17-11. The game went back and forth and the score reached 17-22 before Kupiec led a 5-0 run with two more aces. Loudoun Black pushed the Condors to the brink before Przybyla’s kill tied the set at 24. Lawson’s block sealed the set 26-24. The Condors continued to play well in the set with eight kills; with White-Tourruellas, Przybyla, Latimer, and Kupiec all participating in the fun. The third set saw the Condors jump out to a 10-5 lead before falling behind 11-14. However, as in the first two sets the Condors rebounded with the strong defensive play. His set Baldwin and Chervenak aced the defense and Lawson and Latimer led the attack. With the victory the Condors finished pool play with a record of 9-0.
The semi-finals had the Condors defeating the NVVA Fairfax Spartans 25-22, 25-14. The Spartans jumped out to a 6-0 in set one of the best of three. However, the Condors serving started taking over the set at that point. Kupiec’s five (5) service aces assisted in a 6-0 run to tie the set at 6. The Spartans ran off a streak of their own to take a 16-8 lead. The set then saw quite a few long volleys with the Condors winning most of them. The score was tied at 19 with a kill from White-Tourruellas assisted by Burke. Strong net play from Przybyla (3 kills) finished off the first set 25-22. The second set was the Condors from the outset. The serving of Kupiec (4 aces), Owensby (2 aces) and the offense of White-Tourruellas (5 kills) and Cable (1 kill) helped control the set. The 25-14 victory put the Condors in the tournament finals.
Coach Monica Owensby was pleased with her team’s effort. The coach added, “Our focus the last couple of practices was to improve our defensive to offensive transition. I think the team’s performance, as well as each individual performance showed great improvement and the proof was demonstrated each match we played. Overall, the girls had an awesome day and their performance today really showed me how much they are learning. It’s only going to get better with their desire to improve.”
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