2 days Ago
BROADWAY — Broadway erupted in celebration, thinking it had just slapped down the match-winning point to complete a sweep against Valley District opponent Spotswood. But as the teams lined up to begin the post-game handshake line, the point was ruled in the Trailblazers’ favor, which forced the Gobblers to reset and focus on getting back to playing volleyball. BHS head coach Colton Frey regrets not calling a timeout following the confusion as it was evident the Broadway players were out of sorts when they retook the floor, allowing the Spotswood to march back and win the third set and stay alive.
“I should’ve called a timeout directly after it happened and settled us in,” Frey said. “It’s really hard to go on an adrenaline high and then immediately crash and get back into play. I’ll take that loss in set three on me.
” On the other hand, it gave the Trailblazers a new life after narrowly missing a sweep. “It was a second chance,” first-year SHS head coach Owen Longacre said. “I honestly didn’t even see the call, but I just said, ‘Hey, look, we’re still playing volleyball.
Let’s get out there. Let’s continue to give 100 percent.’ And credit to our girls.
We were down three when that happened. They found a way to come back — five straight I believe — and won the game.” Broadway's Kaiden Alger takes a shot over Spotswood's Layla Schumacher and Piper Lohr.
In a back-and-forth fourth set, the Gobblers returned to form and pushed to victory to secure a 25-17, 28-26, 25-27, 26-24 Valley District win on Tuesday night at BHS. “Immediately, we talked about in the huddle that we just had to start thinking about the next set and move on from that [third set], because there was nothing we could do about it,” senior outside hitter Wren Wheeler said. “Come out with some extra fire and win that one.
” As the Gobblers prepared for the fourth set, Frey told his girls they were there for a reason. On the heels of convincing wins in sets one and two, the third-year head coach wanted his team to finish it off. Frey said that Tuesday’s win marked the first true test of resilience, and the Gobblers responded soundly.
“I think we were showing we were the better team,” Frey said. “Losing that set, that doesn’t take anything away from us, so we wanted to go out and play with confidence. I think that we did that in set four.
It wasn’t nearly as clean as sets one and two, but we were resilient. This was one of the first true matches we’ve had this year of really testing our resilience, and I think we showed who we were tonight.” Like most nights, the Gobblers played with high energy throughout the contest, but perhaps none higher than junior middle blocker Clara Denman, who poured in five kills and five digs.
Denman’s presence on the court is pivotal for Broadway, Wheeler said, adding that they’re thankful to have someone who creates the type of spark she does. Broadway's Kaiden Alger goes up for a shot against Spotswood's Piper Lohr. Daniel Lin / DN-R Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Spotswood's Stella Jones takes a shot against Broadway's Wren Wheeler and Kaiden Alger.
Daniel Lin / DN-R Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Broadway's Mady Ennis takes a shot against Spotswood. Daniel Lin / DN-R Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Spotswood's Piper Lohr takes a shot against Broadway's Clara Denman. Daniel Lin / DN-R Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Spotswood head coach Owen Longacre directs his team against Broadway.
Daniel Lin / DN-R Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Broadway's Kaiden Alger takes a shot over Spotswood's Layla Schumacher and Piper Lohr. Daniel Lin / DN-R Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Broadway's Ruby Veurink blocks a shot from Spotswood's Claire Shaffer. Daniel Lin / DN-R Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Broadway's Wren Wheeler takes a shot against Spotswood's Allyson Howard.
Daniel Lin / DN-R Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Spotswood's Addison Weldon hits the ball back to Broadway. Daniel Lin / DN-R Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Broadway head coach Colton Frey high-fives Mattie Chupp as the team comes into the bench for a timeout. Daniel Lin / DN-R Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Spotswood's Claire Shaffer takes a shot against Broadway's Mattie Chupp and Clara Denman.
Daniel Lin / DN-R Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Spotswood's Layla Schumacher takes a shot against Broadway's Mady Ennis. Daniel Lin / DN-R Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Broadway's Mattie Chupp takes a shot against Spotswood's Addison Weldon. Daniel Lin / DN-R Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Broadway's Wren Wheeler takes a shot against Spotswood's Addison Weldon.
Daniel Lin / DN-R Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Spotswood's Claire Weaver digs into a serve from Broadway. Daniel Lin / DN-R Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Spotswood's Stella Jones digs into a serve from Broadway. Daniel Lin / DN-R Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Broadway's Wren Wheeler digs into a serve from Spotswood.
Daniel Lin / DN-R Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Broadway's Brooklyn Spitzer digs into a serve from Spotswood. Daniel Lin / DN-R Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Broadway's Wren Wheeler chases down a shot from Spotswood. Daniel Lin / DN-R Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Broadway's Brooklyn Spitzer digs into a shot from Spotswood.
Daniel Lin / DN-R Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Broadway's Kaiden Alger digs into a shot from Spotswood. Daniel Lin / DN-R Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Spotswood's Allyson Howard chases down a loose ball. Daniel Lin / DN-R Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Volleyball: Broadway vs.
Spotswood Broadway's Kaiden Alger goes up for a shot against Spotswood's Piper Lohr. Daniel Lin / DN-R Spotswood's Stella Jones takes a shot against Broadway's Wren Wheeler and Kaiden Alger. Daniel Lin / DN-R Broadway's Mady Ennis takes a shot against Spotswood.
Daniel Lin / DN-R Spotswood's Piper Lohr takes a shot against Broadway's Clara Denman. Daniel Lin / DN-R Spotswood head coach Owen Longacre directs his team against Broadway. Daniel Lin / DN-R Broadway's Kaiden Alger takes a shot over Spotswood's Layla Schumacher and Piper Lohr.
Daniel Lin / DN-R Broadway's Ruby Veurink blocks a shot from Spotswood's Claire Shaffer. Daniel Lin / DN-R Broadway's Wren Wheeler takes a shot against Spotswood's Allyson Howard. Daniel Lin / DN-R Spotswood's Addison Weldon hits the ball back to Broadway.
Daniel Lin / DN-R Broadway head coach Colton Frey high-fives Mattie Chupp as the team comes into the bench for a timeout. Daniel Lin / DN-R Spotswood's Claire Shaffer takes a shot against Broadway's Mattie Chupp and Clara Denman. Daniel Lin / DN-R Spotswood's Layla Schumacher takes a shot against Broadway's Mady Ennis.
Daniel Lin / DN-R Broadway's Mattie Chupp takes a shot against Spotswood's Addison Weldon. Daniel Lin / DN-R Broadway's Wren Wheeler takes a shot against Spotswood's Addison Weldon. Daniel Lin / DN-R Spotswood's Claire Weaver digs into a serve from Broadway.
Daniel Lin / DN-R Spotswood's Stella Jones digs into a serve from Broadway. Daniel Lin / DN-R Broadway's Wren Wheeler digs into a serve from Spotswood. Daniel Lin / DN-R Broadway's Brooklyn Spitzer digs into a serve from Spotswood.
Daniel Lin / DN-R Broadway's Wren Wheeler chases down a shot from Spotswood. Daniel Lin / DN-R Broadway's Brooklyn Spitzer digs into a shot from Spotswood. Daniel Lin / DN-R Broadway's Kaiden Alger digs into a shot from Spotswood.
Daniel Lin / DN-R Spotswood's Allyson Howard chases down a loose ball. Daniel Lin / DN-R “Her energy is sky-high all the time,” Wheeler said. “She just creates so much of it for us and we rely on her a lot for that.
That’s one of her roles on this team. We’re very glad to have her.” Wheeler led the Gobblers with 10 kills, seven aces, and 15 digs, while junior Kaiden Alger nailed seven aces.
Sophomore setter Madyson Ennis contributed 19 assists and 14 digs while senior libero Brooklyn Spitzer tallied 11 digs. The Trailblazers might’ve lost, but the result certainly didn’t reflect the tenacity they showed against their district rival on Tuesday. “We’ve been a part of a lot of really tight games, which just shows how hard our girls are working,” Longacre said.
“I think it shows our togetherness in what we’re trying to accomplish. We focus on things we can control — effort, attitude, and then, we hope for the best in terms of results. In the early goings, it hasn’t been what we wanted, but we continue to believe in the process, not in the result, because we just believe that if we do what we tend to do, better things are going to happen.
” Broadway's Wren Wheeler takes a shot against Spotswood's Allyson Howard. The Gobblers (9-2, 3-0 Valley) face Valley District opponent Turner Ashby on the road Thursday at 7 p.m.
, while Spotswood (4-7, 1-2 Valley) hosts East Rockingham for a district matchup that night. Wheeler noted the Trailblazers lost some key pieces from last season, but knew they couldn’t take them lightly on Tuesday. The dual-sport athlete in volleyball and basketball proved to be right as it was a grueling match all night long.
In the end, however, the Gobblers stood tall. “We knew we still had to come out and give it everything we got, and we did,” Wheeler said. “We ended up playing four, so it was pretty close the whole time.
” The Gobblers extended their win streak to sic with now a pair of district victories over Rockbridge County, Rocktown and Spotswood. Frey feels his girls have played confident volleyball all year long, and their success to this point is a testament to not just their work this season, but since he took over the program in 2022. Yet, Frey said they can’t get ahead of themselves as there’s many tall tasks ahead — starting with the Knights on Thursday.
“Those girls who were freshmen when I first came [to Broadway] are getting to see the fruit of their labor now as juniors,” Frey said. “Our seniors saw it from sophomore year to now. I think they’re proud of themselves for that hard work and they know that nothing is given.
Everything is earned and we’re going to have to go out and earn a win on Thursday and from here on out, because we have a target on our back.”.
