Seton senior looking for early birthday present

By Dave Utnik

Published: October 29, 2008

Kaitlyn Kohlhaas has a birthday coming up and there’s one gift that won’t need pretty wrapping paper or a bow.
Seton School’s soon-to-be 18-year-old outside hitter will even accept it early.
Say, like, tonight.
A victory over rival Fredericksburg Christian in the Delaney Athletic Conference volleyball tournament championship match would be Kohlhaas’ ideal way to celebrate.
Having already won the Capital Area Athletic Conference Tournament title this season, Seton is now pursuing its second postseason crown following Wednesday’s 25-15, 25-15, 25-14 sweep of Wakefield in the DAC semifinals.
“I’m so happy we’ve come this far. I don’t want the season to end,” said Kohlhaas, a three-year member of the varsity team who led the Conquistadors with 12 kills, 17 back-row digs and three service aces. “We’ve been able to pull together against some really tough teams so it’s been really awesome.”
Seton has won its past two matches with Fredericksburg Christian en route to earning a No. 3 ranking in the Virginia Independent School Division II state poll.
At 18-7, the Conquistadors will also play a home match in the state tournament on Tuesday — the first time that has happened in Kohlhaas’ career.
“It’s been our goal the whole year to try to get as highly ranked as possible because we’ve never had a home game for states,” she said.
Kohlhaas’ performance as an all-around player is one reason the Conquistadors are ranked higher than ever before.
After spending the club season with the U18 Clash, she is on pace for a career high in kills and is once again the team’s best back-row defender.
There is a ton of talent around her, too, including senior middle hitter Marion Lozano (18 kills), junior libero Ann Durant (14 digs) and team captain Sarah Sewell, who had 23 assists against Wakefield.
“This is a year we really want to finish it off,” said Sewell, who has been a part of two CAAC championship teams but is aiming for a Division II state title this fall.
“We’ve gone pretty far in the past but we haven’t been able to go all the way,” she said. “I think this year we can definitely do it.”