In a rough and tumble District 27-6A volleyball race, where there appears to be little separation among a logjam of teams at the top, letting down your guard could be costly.

Johnson found out as much on Oct. 1. Caught looking ahead to a potential showdown for first place in district play three days later, the Jaguars were upended by Churchill.

“It was a tough loss, and the next day we went in, and we were in a whole different mindset,” Johnson senior libero and East Carolina commit Alli Butrum said. “Even though we knew we should’ve won that game and played our game against them, we didn’t. We just have to be like, ‘Ok, we’ve got to do better in the rest of district.’ “

Johnson got the course correction it needed, topping Clark 25-20, 19-25, 28-26, 28-26 in the opener of a crucial doubleheader at Littleton Gym. In the nightcap, Reagan defeated Brandeis 25-23, 23-25, 25-22, 25-12.

The results left Reagan (25-12, 6-1) in sole possession of first place at the midway point of district competition. Brandeis (17-20, 5-2), Clark (21-15, 5-2) and Johnson (20-15, 5-2) are tied for second.

The importance of the occasion was felt before the first serve as a line stretched from the entrance into Littleton Gym and nearly to the parking lot.

It carried over to the court.

After splitting the first two sets, Johnson displayed its poise down the stretch of the final two frames. In the third set, the Jaguars fought off a set point at 24-23 and scored five of the final seven points to prevail. In the fourth set, Johnson erased four set points, turning a 24-21 deficit into a 28-26 win.

“I think we really just focused in on practice all week and had a goal to end our first round of district on a win,” said Johnson senior middle blocker Payton Melin, who notched nine kills. “We just can’t ever quit. You always have to keep the grind going.”

Ada Awagu, a senior middle blocker who is committed to Georgia Tech, led Johnson with 14 kills. Avery Grant added 11 kills and Campbell Guess tallied 10. Butrum racked up 23 digs.

Clark was paced by Logan McGinnis, who had 16 kills and two blocks. Tarah Yunes had 12 kills and Giselle Orellana totaled 11 kills, 13 digs and three aces.

While Johnson’s win was about making amends for a setback, Reagan’s focus was on building off the momentum of a dramatic five-set triumph (25-18, 25-27, 25-27, 25-23, 18-16) vs. Clark from three days earlier.

After winning the first set and dropping the second by identical 25-23 scores, Reagan used a late run to prevail in the third frame and a 9-2 run midway through the fourth set to pull away.

Senior outside hitter Mya Allen, a TCU commit, had a match-high 29 kills. Kennedy Crider totaled 13 kills and Rylee LaGrange contributed 12 kills and four blocks. Setter Lauren Garcia had 53 assists and 24 digs, and libero Shayne Zammiello had 25 digs.

“I feel like our game against Clark, it was definitely a roller-coaster of emotions,” Crider said. “But our fight and our urgency on the court helped us a lot. Winning that game gave us the confidence coming into Brandeis.”

The belief paid dividends for LaGrange, who came up big over the final two sets vs. Brandeis, which was led by senior outside hitter and Texas Tech commit Lola Isaeff (17 kills and 22 digs), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi pledge Tatum Mason (10 kills) and libero Berkley Kiolbassa (27 digs).

“I’m just glad that I get opportunities like that, and I’m glad that the setters are trusting me to put the ball down in stressful situations like fifth sets when it’s tied up and we need a good kill to get things going again,” LaGrange said. “I like competition. That’s how you get better as a team and that’s how you learn life lessons. It’s not just about the game of volleyball. It helps you get better mentally and physically.”

terrence@terrencesports.com
Twitter: @sa_terrence1