It’s a family affair

Ron Counts
Published: August 26, 2008

Culpeper junior Megan Chamberlin walked out of the CCHS gym after Tuesday’s match against Eastern View with a bag of ice taped to her right shoulder, and for good reason.

“Being from the old school in Culpeper, we wanted to prove something tonight,” she said. “They (Eastern View) are our rivals, and we just really wanted to beat them.”

The Devilettes got their wish, shutting out the Cyclones 3-0 (25-16, 25-13, 25-12) in the first meeting between the cross-town rivals on the volleyball court.

Every time Chamberlin touched the ball, a pop eerily similar to that of a cannon shot reverberated through the packed gymnasium. She led CCHS with 15 points, six kills and five aces.

“She pounds the snot out of the ball, and I’ll encourage her to just keep hitting,” CCHS coach Chris White said of Chamberlin. “She brings a lot of leadership to the team. Seeing her, the rest of the girls know that they have that to live up to.”

After dropping a shot at the front of the net to win the first game for Culpeper, Chamberlin — employing her potent jump serve — dropped one of her aces between three EVHS defenders to give the Devilettes a 19-13 lead in game two.

CCHS senior Emily Watkevich gave Culpeper game point by firing an ace past a couple of Cyclones before Chamberlin snuck a booming kill just inside the foul line.

Watkevich finished the match with eight points, five kills and five blocks, while senior Dee Cooper added 11 points, two of which came on aces.

“Cross-town rivals are always tough, regardless of skill level,” White said. “We came out on fire. Our hitting looked great and our athleticism showed tonight.”

The Cyclones (0-5) began both the second and third games like a team on a mission. Eastern View’s Tori Johnson — who led the team with five points and four kills — nearly leapt out of the building to connect on a kill, giving EVHS a 2-0 lead at the beginning of game three.

EVHS junior Shelby Lukachik extended the Cyclones lead to 10-5 with consecutive aces, but the Devilettes (1-1) kept finding ways to come back.

“Our fast starts show that we have the potential to play with anyone,” EVHS coach Betty Jo Utz said. “What happened was, we would get down from one play they would make, and that would kill our momentum. That is something we can fix with experience and by getting comfortable with each other.”

The big play in the third game came off of the right hand of CCHS senior Kaitlin Carver, who powered a kill past a diving Cyclone defender to tie the game at 11. Cooper kept the momentum on Culpeper’s side of the net with an ace that made it 14-11.

Watkevich then scored by blocking a shot and splitting the Cyclone defense with a potent kill before Chamberlin won the match with consecutive aces.

“We’ve just got to understand our teammates and learn how to motivate each other,” Utz said. “I keep reiterating the experience thing, but that’s really the biggest thing we need.”
The Devilettes and the Cyclones will write the next chapter of their budding rivalry when they meet again on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Eastern View.

“We’re going to stay focused on the task at hand, which is to get another win on Thursday,” White said. “We’re going to focus on the good stuff that happened today, and run with the progress we’re making.”

Ron Counts can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 166 or