The defending Liberty District and Class 6 state champion Langley Saxons are having another strong girls volleyball season, with a 19-1 record as the regular season nears its finish.
Langley leads the district with a 10-0 mark and 3-0 victories against each opponent, with two matches to play, and a 14-match winning streak overall.
The Saxons will enter the post season as the district’s top seed to begin a quest to repeat as Virginia High School League state champions and earn a fourth state title.
Langley’s lone loss this season came during a one-day tournament in Richmond, falling to the Ocean Lakes Dolphins of Virginia Beach, 2-1, in a shortened match.
Top returning players for Langley are seniors Ana Toumazatos, Ava Barnett and Amber Smith and junior Claire Mo. Hanna Herbolshemer and Viviav Nitowski are other seniors, with other top players being junior Hailey Park and freshman Rujuta Singh.
“Every position for us is very solid, and we have a lot of depth,” Langley coach Susan Shifflett said. “I think Claire Mo is the best setter in the state, and Ana can just terminate the ball.”
Toumazatos, the team’s top hitter, will play Division I college volleyball at James Madison University. Barnett will play at the University of Mary Washington on the Division III level.
The team through the years has benefited from a talent pool of playing coming up through the ranks.
“A lot of our top players sat on the bench for a time before this season,” Shifflett said. “Now they are getting playing time, and they don’t seem to be intimidated at all.”
Shifflett started the varsity program at Langley 25 seasons ago in 1999 and now has 521 career wins, the fourth most of any girls volleyball coach listed in the VHSL’s record book.
