Langley Varsity Volleyball team won the first three games in a row against First Colonial High School on Saturday night, securing its Division 6A Virginia States championship.

The first game did not start well. First Colonial Patriots got the first point with a kill, although Saxons gained the next point. Patriots were in the lead at 5:7 when Saxons scored two points, making a tie with the Patriots at 7:7. The following plays were extremely close, in which one team scored after another, until they tied at 15:15. Then Alex Andrejev, one of Langley’s senior captains, started to serve. While she was serving, Langley scored five points, leading the Patriots at 20:15. Patriots rebounded with three points, but then so did Saxons – 23:20. Patriots scored two more points, but so did Saxons, and Langley won the first game with 25:22.

Unlike the first game, the second game was a clear, fast win. In no time, Saxons were easily leading by 15:5. While Lexy Donaldson (12) was serving, Saxons scored seven points, the most consecutive points they scored during State finals. Patriots seemed like they had given up the second game: Saxons scored their sixteenth point because a Patriot hit the net with the ball from far away. However, the Patriots tried to catch up, scoring a point and then three consecutive points to 19:9. But then, Patriots blocked a ball, but the block went out, letting Saxons again score a point. After that was Saxons’ largely uninterrupted pace towards victory. Langley won the second game by 25:12.

Since Saxons had already won two games, they just had to win the next game to secure their championship title. On the flip side, to the Patriots, this game was the one they could not lose. Although Saxons were leading by 4:1, Patriots quickly caught up to a 5:5. Then it was a series of giving one point and taking one point, until the Patriots were leading by 11:12. Then Saxons scored five consecutive points to a 16:12, and it seemed like they had gained the lead, but Patriots quickly came back, scoring four consecutive points to a 16:16 tie. At this point, the result of the third game was unpredictable.

When the Saxons were barely leading by 19:18, they scored four consecutive points – 23:18. From then, it was the matter of when to score the remaining two points. Patriots resisted with considerable energy, but they could not turn the tide. Saxons won the third game by 25:20. After their win, Coach Shifflett  stated that “anything less would be a dissapointment. ”