Boys volleyball players from three different district-championship squads in Fairfax County recently were chosen to Virginia High School League Class 6 all-state teams.
From the Liberty District and region-champion McLean Highlanders team, senior Evan Li made the first team and senior Luke Cowan was selected to the second.
It’s been a few days since the Langley Saxons won a second straight and fourth overall state girls volleyball championship. But the team’s head coach already is looking ahead to what might be possible next season.
That’s what coaches do, when they are in charge of high-school programs that have enjoyed the sustained success the Saxons have.
Six girls volleyball players from the rival Flint Hill Huskies and Potomac School Panthers were chosen to Division I all-state teams from their performances during the fall high-school season.
Making first team from Flint Hill were senior hitter and setter Isabelle Bardin, senior libero Kadi Pynchon and sophomore middle blocker Hunter Ross and, from Potomac School, senior middle hitter Skylar Guliani.
The Virginia High School League recently announced its Class 6 all-state girls volleyball team, with Langley Saxons’ junior setter Claire Mo chosen as the Player of the Year and West Springfield head coach Stephanie Noriega Coach of the Year.
Mo helped Langley (28-2) win the state championship, the team’s fourth in program history, this fall. Noriega led West Springfield to the state-tournament semifinals, where it lost to Langley.
Winning four state championships, as the Langley Saxons have now done, puts the girls team among rarified company in Virginia High School League (VHSL) volleyball competition.
Langley won its fourth overall Va. crown and second in a row Saturday (Nov. 23) at the Siegel Center in Richmond by edging the Chantilly Chargers, 3-2, in a seesaw Class 6 state-tournament title match.
For each of the past two seasons, the McLean Highlanders have been dominating and undefeated in winning boys volleyball championships.
And they have done so at two different levels of competition.
The Langley Saxons are headed back to a familiar venue — one where they already have won three state volleyball championships, including last year.
In this season’s Virginia High School League Class 6 girls state-tournament final at 2:30 p.m. Saturday (Nov. 23) at the Siegel Center in Richmond, Langley (27-2) will play the Chantilly Chargers (24-2-1) in the 2024 title match.
Their strategy of building early leads in as many sets possible worked and won a region volleyball championship for the Chantilly Chargers.
Host Chantilly (22-2-1) defeated the Langley Saxons, 3-1, Wednesday night (Nov. 13) in the title match of the girls 6D North Region high-school tournament. The region crown was the Chargers’ second in three seasons, as the squad also topped Langley in the 2022 final at Chantilly.
Two girls volleyball players each from the Langley Saxons and Madison Warhawks were chosen first-team all-6D North Region for performances during the 2024 high-school season.
From Langley, junior setter Claire Mo was chosen first-team, as well as the region’s Player of the Year, and senior hitter Ana Toumazatos made the first team. The two helped Langley win the Liberty District tournament, then finish second in the region tourney to the Chantilly Chargers.
Winning 21 matches and reaching a state championship match usually would be considered a successful season, and it was for the Flint Hill Huskies.
But compared to the girls volleyball team’s recent rich history, the accomplishments fell slightly short of past glories.
