News at St. Catherine's
Richmond Times Dispatch Features V. Volleyball Win over Midlo
St. Catherine's girls volleyball beats Midlo 3-2, Trojans drop first game since 2021
Link
Silence can be deafening. It can indicate just how serious something is.
In this case, the silence between the timeout and the serve in Wednesday’s girls volleyball clash between Midlothian, ranked No. 1 in The Times-Dispatch Top 10, and No. 5 St. Catherine’s showed just how much was at stake.
Nobody dared to shout, shift in their seat or whisper in another’s ear. For about 10 seconds, all anyone heard was the slamming of the volleyball on the court and all eyes were locked on Midlothian.
The Trojans, entering the game 7-0 and on a 33-game winning streak, were down 14-13 in the fifth set with the Saints. Coming out of the timeout, they needed the next point.
“To be honest, we just said to play our game, we know how to play,” senior libero Campbell Woods said. “We played to our best ability throughout the entire game.”
The serve went up and St. Catherine’s got control. After flipping between each side, junior Fielding Croft and senior Taylor Meredith both jumped for the block in unison. The ball bounced off their fingertips and hit the ground on Midlo’s side. Croft fell to her knees — the Saints’ snapped Midlo’s streak and beat the Trojans 3-2.
The Trojans went up 10-6 in the fifth set, backed by a traveling fanbase for their aide. The home team St. Catherine’s didn’t go down without a fight and weren’t afraid of Midlo, going on a four-point run and then eventually took a 13-11 lead in the last set, one it never relinquished.
Saints head coach Skip Westin was a bit lost for words after the win, but said the way his team battled and never quit shows them what potential they have as they navigate the season.
“We lost to (Midlo) in five sets last year,” Westin said. “It showed the team they are capable of playing.”
The Trojans took the first set 25-20 but St. Catherine’s hung with the Times-Dispatch’s top-ranked team until late in the set, when Midlo went on a six-point run.
The second and third sets were a different story.
The Saints had a five-point lead at a point in the second set before the Trojans stormed back. St. Catherine’s had the chance to win the set 25-23 at a point but under pressure, Midlo doesn’t yell or play any different, it just keeps attacking.
With captains and returners from the state title team Hannah Ball and Alexandra Mazulewicz, there’s senior leadership on the court for a young Trojans team. Between that and the experienced coaching of Sherman Chung, the Trojans were cool and pushed the set to extra points.
But Midlo didn’t have enough in the tank — the Saints took set point, winning 28-26. Then, in the third set, it was all the home team as the group never surrendered the lead to Midlo and picked up the 2-1 match lead.
“We just kept trying,” Meredith said. “Even when things got hard, we didn’t give up.”
Woods, a 2022 All-Metro first-team member, added that the power Midlo brought made them so strong. The libero said she’s known Ball for years and knows what she brings. Westin added that Midlo’s attack was what challenged his team, but they didn’t back down.
For the first time this season, the Trojans dropped two sets in one game. It’s only the second time all year the team has given up a set, the first coming by the hands of Cosby on Sept. 5.
Last season, the Trojans hosted St. Catherine’s in Midlothian and beat the Saints in five sets. Westin said his team didn’t forget that and beating them at home in five felt good.
Because of last year’s loss, he said that made the fifth set even more nerve-wracking.
While his team was down in the final frame, Meredith said the St. Catherine’s knew to just play their game and style. It came down to execution.
“We just knew that we needed to win,” Meredith said. “It was amazing.”
The Saints have two losses on the season, to Saint Gertrude and Collegiate. Westin said, specifically about the Collegiate game, that his team didn’t play to the potential it has.
On Wednesday, they did. And as St. Catherine’s navigates its schedule, it’s about continuing to play with the chemistry and communication it did against Midlo.
“I think we’ve learned how to really put our chemistry together,” Woods said. “We finally got our chemistry together and our defense and offense working together. That was really awesome and I think we’re going to make that work.”
Woods added her team learned they needed to “earn everything” that’s given to them. As the Saints get ready to host another game Friday against St. Anne’s-Belfield, they know they need to keep earning everything.
St. Catherine’s improved to 11-2. Midlo dropped to 7-1 and plays again Thursday against L.C. Bird at 7 p.m.
“We’re just going to play the same way,” Meredith said.
Midlothian: 25 26 20 25 13 — 2
St. Catherine’s: 20 28 25 18 15 — 3
Located in the heart of Richmond, Virginia, St. Catherine’s School is a private, all-girls pre-K, kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school. We provide a well-rounded educational experience for girls from communities across Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico and all of central Virginia. St.Catherine’s all-girls educational experience is rooted in more than a century of history and tradition. From our revolutionary past to our dynamic present, St. Catherine’s has always focused on preparing students for a boundless future.
