VOLLEYBALL: Hogoheegee Champ Chilhowie Wraps Up Regular Season

EMORY, Va. – Krystal Patton dominated at the net with her forceful spikes. Heather Sage was on target with her serves. Senior setter Shannon Howell was consistent and the defense hustled its way to plenty of digs.

The formula that has worked all season for the Chilhowie High School volleyball team helped the Warriors wrap up the regular season with a 25-22, 25-14, 25-20 Hogoheegee District
win over Patrick Henry on Thursday night.

Chilhowie (18-2, 10-0) clinched the district title with a five-game victory over Rural Retreat on Tuesday and completed the regular season with a convincing win over the Rebels on Thursday.

“That was a goal they wanted from the beginning of the year and they’ve worked hard to get it,” said Chilhowie coach Laura Robinson. “They’ve had a lot of close games where they’ve been behind and they got their heads together and pushed on through.”

Chilhowie actually fell behind 6-1 in the opening game, but quickly came back thanks to a deep, versatile attack.

“We started off nervous at the beginning, like always,” said Sage, who finished with 19 service points. “We finally get it together. We get one kill and it just adds on every time.”

Most of those kills were provided by Patton, who finished with 27 kills and 14 digs. The powerful Patton has been one of the favorite targets for Howell.

“Krystal, she’s my go-to girl,” Howell said. “If we’re down or something’s going on, I can always lean on Krystal and she’s got it.”

Howell finished with 21 assists on Thursday, the same total the senior had two days earlier in the win over Rural Retreat.

“I’ve always been a setter, ever since I was in the seventh grade,” Howell said. “It’s a position where you have to talk all the time and keep everyone going and I like that.”

Lynsey Taylor (18 digs) and Kelsey Wilkerson (11 service points) also played well for the Warriors. Robinson said it was the first district regular-season title in program history.

Chilhowie clinched the top seed for next week’s district tournament and also secured a first-round home match in the Region C tournament.

“It’s amazing,” Sage said. “I’ve been playing on varsity for like four years and this is all I’ve ever wanted.”

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