By Alex LaCoste (February 22, 2003)

Mason’s junior varsity volleyball team suffered not one, but two losses Tuesday night a week ago against Rappahannock, losing their spot in the district championships.
 

The Mustangs, who entered the final regular season match with and 8-3 record, one better than the Panthers,’ lost 9-15 and 11-15, forcing what essentially amounted to a playoff match immediately following. In the second match, the Mustangs went down in three games, 6-15, 15-10 and 12-15, essentially losing a playoff spot by three points.  The Panthers eventually went on to the Bull Run District finals, losing last night to Strasburg, a team that went 16-0 in the season. Mason was feeling nothing but confidence before the big game against the Panthers. "It was clear from the beginning that the match was not going to be easy, especially since in the beginning we weren’t really playing like a team," said freshman captain Alex LaCoste.

Coach Kristen Kurowski talks over plans for next year's  volleyball program with player Alex LaCoste. Coach K.  says that she wants to build on the success of this  year's much improved team. (photo by Kate O'Hara)

After losing the first match, the Mustangs were forced to play the Panthers again. The team received a pep talk from assistant coach Carlyn Kuder. "Right now, we just need to play volleyball, and to play each point one at a time. I’m not going to lie to you, right now we’re looking at climbing Mt. Everest. It’s not going to be easy, but we can do it," encouraged Kuder.

Inspired by this speech, the Mustangs came out with newfound dedication and almost won game one and then came back and won game two in a tough battle. Entering game three of the "playoff" the Mustangs looked like they were going to win as they were leading 9-0. Everything turned around at that point when the Panthers’ strongest server took charge and evened the score and the Mustangs never recovered, losing 13-15, allowing Rappahannock to go the district finals.

"Losing that match was agonizing," said head coach Kristen Kurowski. "Yet, I was so proud of our team and our players this year. They worked hard and it paid off. We showed a marked improvement over last year’s JV record and we became much more competitive this year. I hope we will be even more competitive next year," added coach K.