Sophomore Emilia Zhang effortlessly spikes the ball onto the opponent’s side of the net. The Cats approached the MCPS County Championship with an 84.62% win percentage. (Courtesy Tyler Shores viaLifetouch)

Girls’ volleyball fell to RM in the MCPS county championships on Monday, Oct. 28.

The game took place at Quince Orchard, as the county championship is always played at a neutral site. The Cats came into the game confidently, having finished out their season by defeating Northwest, 3-1. The Cats’ opponent, Richard Montgomery, came into the match undefeated, looking to complete a successful regular season.

The match started fairly even as points were traded back and forth between teams, but RM was fortunate enough to take the first set, 25-21. As both teams battled the ball back and forth over the net, the competitiveness of each rally increased exponentially. RM was able to take the second set and continued to ramp up their momentum in the final set, sweeping the Cats 3-0.

“We learned what it was like to play in a high-stakes game against tough competition,” senior Ariel Mazor said.

Despite losing in three sets, the Cats view this loss as motivation as they move into playoffs where they could potentially encounter a rematch with RM.

“We learned that no matter what, we can’t let up. Even though we might be down in sets or down in points there is always a chance to come back and it is important to keep fighting for that win because it is possible,” sophomore Misha Anderson said.

The Cats will face region-rival Whitman on Friday, Nov. 1 at home at 5 p.m. This game marks the second round of playoffs as the Cats compete to make it out of their region and into the state playoff bracket.

“[Our loss against RM] taught us about how important it is to keep cool and collected when playing in tight matches, and we will take this knowledge with us to the semi-finals on Friday,” Mazor said.