Herndon High Volleyball Back on Winning Track

The Herndon High varsity volleyball team (4-6) sat in a precarious position this past off-season. Several star seniors had just graduated, leaving the remaining players with a new head coach. But that coach, Rebecca Waters, never lost focus when she took the Hornet helm.

Despite starting out in the hole at 0-4, the Hornets fought their way back to win four of their last six matches—the latest being Wednesday night’s victory over Yorktown. Herndon looked dominant on both sides of the ball and grabbed the win in four sets, 3-1 (25-23, 25-21, 24-26, 26-24).

Sophomore Catherine Nickle stormed the net for 12 kills and dominated the service line with 9 big aces for Herndon. Courtney Guengerich and Kayleen Harrington led a defense, which has found its rhythm the past two weeks. Guengerich dove for 29 digs while Harrington had a career-high 34 against the Patriots.

Herndon hopes for a shot at a high seed alive with five more opponents, four in the Concorde, before the district tournament begins in November. The Hornets odds fare well as only Chantilly (8-5) bests the bunch with better than a one-game-above .500-record as of this week.

Herndon (4-6) plays at Westfield (11-10) at 7:15 p.m. on Oct. 12.