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"It's being able to come back after a loss [to Poolesville]," said Gaithersburg head coach Michele Staymates. "We had a long talk about believing in each other, supporting each other, and believing that the person that is next to you, you would go down with and trust them with your life. That's what this is all about: good times and bad times."
After dropping the first two games and falling behind 11-7 in game three, the Trojans (7-2) found their groove, led by sophomore outside hitter Kirby Buttry, who finished with 11 kills and four aces.
"[Kirby was an] MVP," Staymates said. "She was unbelievable; nobody could stop her. Kirby really had the opportunity to shine tonight."
The Trojans would end game three on an 18-5 run with solid defense by junior libero Bianca Livioco.
Gaithersburg kept all the momentum rolling in game four as they quickly jumped out to a 12-4 advantage with outstanding hitting from Buttry, senior Allison McCabe and junior Bridget Kulesh. Setter T.C. Schulte spearheaded the offensive attack with superb passing.
"We started working together," said Buttry. "Once we did that everything fell in place."
The Trojans would go on to win games four and five with relative ease.
"We wouldn't be doing that if it wasn't the passes we were putting up there," said Staymates. "We just kept the pressure on the net and putting the ball into my hitters' hands. It was a true team effort."
After the Barons (12-2) controlled the match for the first two games, led by senior Rosie Eck, who finished with seven kills, they struggled to find any consistency.
"We lost the edge," said B-CC head coach Michelle Clise. "We have a hard time getting the killer instinct and putting teams away. Despite our success we do have a confidence issue. It's just a matter of knowing how good we are and not worrying about the other team."
Magruder 3, Walter Johnson 0
The Colonels (14-0 overall, 8-0 regular season) continued their strong play as they swept Walter Johnson Tuesday night, 25-12, 25-11, 25-13, in Bethesda.
"We played really well tonight," said Magruder head coach Scott Zanni. "Best match of the year defensively. I'm really pleased."
