Forest Park eliminated in regional semifinals

By Dave Utnik

Published: November 6, 2008

Albemarle outside hitter Sarah Elder broke out her happy dance on Thursday night — a celebration of bouncy, animated gestures that ended with both arms raised above her head.
She’d just slammed another cross-court spike past a block attempt and Elder was feeling pretty good about it.
Across the floor, a more somber mood prevailed as Forest Park middle hitter Kellie Goss flung the volleyball back underneath the net in disgust.
The Bruins could sense that their season — and their two-year reign as Northwest Region champions — was about to come to an end and Goss, for one, didn’t like the way that felt.
Her twin sister, Rachael, wasn’t particularly fond of the turn of events either. She smacked her hands together and implored her teammates to rally, but Elder and the Patriots were too good and too strong as they rallied for a 21-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-19 victory in the regional semifinals.
“We came into this game on a high and I think the first game we were still on a high,” Rachael Goss said after the Bruins had their six-match winning streak snapped.
“Once they showed their weapons we kind of crashed. They’re a good team with great hitters,” she said. “We just didn’t come with our best game which is unfortunate.”
Forest Park (16-9) worked all season to hold onto to its championship legacy and, for the most part, succeeded.
The Goss twins combined for over 600 kills, first-year varsity setter Stephanie Saunders had close to 500 assists and the Bruins captured the Cardinal District banner for the ninth consecutive season.
But their bid for a third straight trip to the Group AAA state tournament ended despite a 21-kill 19-dig performance from Rachael Goss, nine blocks from Kellie Goss, 14 digs from Emily Stewart and 11 digs from Saunders.
“We had a horrible start and the girls played their best ball at the end of the year,” Forest Park coach Jonathan Bukva said. “They played hard and they dug deep. We just had too big of a hole to dig out of.”
Albemarle (23-3) will play Cedar Run District regular season champion Loudoun Valley in Saturday’s regional championship match.
The Bruins, who graduate only libero Amanda Nance and right-side hitter Taylor Baker from the starting lineup, gathered solemnly on the bench and began thinking about the possibilities for next fall.
“We lost six good people from last year and we knew there was going to be a lot of work, but we had a lot of heart,” Rachael Goss said. “It stinks losing but when you look back at it all I couldn’t have asked for a better season.”