Forest Park captures yet another Cardinal District volleyball championship

By Dave Utnik

Published: October 30, 2008

Rachael Goss cradled the Cardinal District Tournament championship trophy between both of her hands and then presented it — carefully and respectfully — to the rest of her teammates.
For the Forest Park Bruins, first place has never felt so good.
Flashing a huge smile that was a mixture of satisfaction and relief, Goss understood as well as anyone what Thursday night’s 27-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-20 victory over Woodbridge meant to a program that has now won nine consecutive district banners.
“We’re not just playing for this year’s team. We play for the tradition,” she said. “It was a tough beginning but we knew, somehow, we were going to make it in the end.”
Truly challenged for the first time in their proud and distinguished history, the Bruins (15-8) maintained their championship tradition by making sure the ball was in Goss’ hands as often as possible.
And then she made sure that everyone on the court shared in the achievement.
“That’s just the role of a captain,” Goss said. “I was a freshman once and I know how it was to play under the big varsity lights. With the support system we have, we knew we’d come together in the end.”
The Bruins, with a new head coach and a lineup filled with several talented first-year varsity players, had their share of difficult moments in the opening weeks of the season — losing to a district opponent for the first time and learning to trust their tremendous athletic ability.
But as the Northwest Region Tournament approaches, Forest Park is back on top again.
After defeating Woodbridge on Monday in a tiebreaker match to determine the regular season champion, the Cardinal District’s two best teams met again in the tournament finals. This time a trophy and a banner were at stake.
The Vikings (15-6) were poised for an upset, too, behind 13 kills and 18 digs from senior captain Theresa McElroy, 10 kills from Melissa Cousins and 21 digs from their remarkable libero Casey Burdette.
But, following a loss at Osbourn Park just two weeks ago, Bruins coach Jonathan Bukva superimposed a 2008 onto a photo of the volleyball banner that hangs in the school gym. He wanted to remind his players of what they were capable of achieving and the psychological ploy worked.
Rachael Goss showcased her incredible hitting prowess with a match-high 29 kills and middle hitter Kellie Goss combined for 10 kills, five blocks and 15 digs for Forest Park, which has won the district title in every season since the school opened in 2000.
“They have a lot of power that comes out against us,” Woodbridge coach Mary Kerski said.
And power isn’t the Bruins’ only weapon. They are pretty good at serving, setting and defending, too. The back row — led by the Goss twins, libero Amanda Nance, Emily Stewart and terrific sophomore Jordan Remington — combined for 85 digs, while setter Stephanie Saunders, who has been sensational running the offense in her first varsity season, got the ball where it needed to be with precision accuracy.
“We kept it going. I’m glad it didn’t stop tonight,” said Bukva, whose team will play at home against Fauquier on Tuesday, while Woodbridge travels to Loudoun Valley. “That’s always going to be the goal until it’s not there anymore. And even then, we’re going to want to get it back.”