Two of the top volleyball teams in the area went head to head on Monday and, as expected, it went down to the fifth set. Auburn defeated Glenvar before a big crowd in the Highlanders’ gym, 25-23, 21-25, 25-22, 16-25, 15-10.
Glenvar actually outscored the defending Class 1 champion Eagles by three points over the marathon match, but Auburn scored them at the right times. The Highlanders trailed 1-0 and 2-1 in sets but came back to tie the match both times. Then, in the fifth set to 15, the set was tied at 10-10 before Auburn put on a run to win.
“Auburn played well,” said Glenvar coach Mark Rohrback. “They showed us what we have to work on. It was just our second match and we have a whole season to go.”
Cara Butler led Glenvar with 19 assists, 12 digs and four aces. Bailey Conner had 15 kills while Faren Wilson had 18 digs and Audrey Conner had 21 assists and six aces.
“Serve receive and blocking are so important, and we could have done better in those areas,” said Rohrback. “I hope this will propel us to get back in the gym and work hard. We’ll be excited to play them again.”
Glenvar is now 1-1. The Highlanders opened the season with a three set win over Giles in Pearisburg last week. Giles was the only team to beat Glenvar in the abbreviated spring season, ending Glenvar’s state hopes with an upset win in the region semifinal as the Highlanders finished 12-0.
This wasn’t the same Giles team, as eight seniors graduated, but it was still a bit of revenge for the Highlanders as they won handily, 25-20, 25-6 and 25-17.
“Giles is still a good team,” said Rohrback. “Overall, I thought we played fairly well. Their gym was hot and humid.”
Butler had 24 assists and four aces for Glenvar. Claire Griffith and Hannah Hylton had 10 kills each.
The Highlanders are off the rest of the week, as their home-and-home with Covington was postponed due to COVID concerns among the Cougars. Next week Glenvar is at William Byrd on Tuesday and at Northside a week from tonight.
