With Saunders in charge, Bruins advance

By Dave Utnik

Published: November 4, 2008

Stephanie Saunders slipped a Forest Park volleyball jersey over her shoulders Tuesday night and experienced a curious mixture of pride and expectation.
She is honored to be a Bruin — enthralled by the tradition that goes along with being part of a championship program and eager to show that she is worthy of running a team with state tournament aspirations.
In the moments leading up to her first appearance in a Northwest Region Tournament match, those feelings were magnified as she stepped onto the court against Fauquier.
“I was ready to go, actually,” said the 5-foot-6 junior, who is participating in her first postseason as a varsity starter. “I was really excited. I knew we could take them.”
As a setter, so much of what Forest Park accomplishes on the court depends on how well Saunders handles the ball. First-year head coach Jonathan Bukva refers to her aptly as, “the playmaker” — and Saunders has embraced that role.
“It’s a lot of pressure, but I think I can handle it,” she said. “We have very powerful hitters and I’m very thankful for that.”
The Bruins are indeed blessed with two of the best front row players in the nation — twins Rachael Goss and Kellie Goss.
But Saunders is quickly earning respect, too.
In a 25-18, 27-25, 21-25, 25-17 victory over the Cedar Run District Tournament champion Falcons, she ran the offense with a certainty and ease that belies her varsity experience. Mixing in back-row sets and quick sets in the middle with more than two dozen traditional sets to the outside, Saunders helped propel the Bruins to within one victory of a state tournament berth.
“I think we’ve found when we get her good passes and she gets her feet squared she can get a good set to anywhere on the court,” Bukva said. “Everything has to go through her to get it on the floor and she knows if she puts it in the right spot, they’re going to put it away.”
In advancing to Thursday’s home-court regional semifinal match against Albemarle, the Bruins combined for 48 kills. Rachael Goss had a match-high 22 of those to go along with 23 digs. Kellie Goss had another postseason triple-double with 14 kills, 11 blocks and 14 digs, while outside hitter Emily Stewart contributed 12 kills, 14 digs and four aces.
Saunders, who assisted on most of those kills, added 12 back-row digs as the Bruins improved to 16-8.
“We’ve come a long way since the beginning of the season. We’ve really come together as a team,” she said. “We have good momentum going. We have to keep it.”
After claiming the Cardinal District Tournament for the ninth consecutive season last week, the Bruins continued their playoff run by defeating a team that defeated Osbourn Park and Loudoun Valley en route to the Cedar Run crown.
“I was kind of worried about Fauquier, you know, they beat some good teams that we lost to during the season,” Bukva said. “But I knew if the girls came to play we could win.
“There is a different attitude now. It’s like, ‘we’re going to win because we can,’ and that’s a big difference. They know we need one more win [to qualify for state] but we’d like to get two more and take the championship.”