Saxon's Sensational Season Comes to a End

By Angela Watts
Content Editor

With her teammates gathered around her — many of them wiping tears away themselves — Langley senior setter Megan Shifflett remained crouched down low, her hands covering her face, weeping. She was still there as officials prepared to start handing out Virginia AAA runner-up medals to the Saxons after their 25-23, 25-16, 25-22 loss to defending champion Deep Run at VCU’s Siegel Center Saturday night in Richmond.

“Pull it together, Megan,” Langley Coach Sue Shifflett said.

But an instant later it was the mother, not just the coach, who walked over, pulled her daughter up and held her in a long embrace.

This wasn’t just any season-ending loss. It was Sue an Megan Shifflett’s last competitive game together.

“I can’t even talk,” Megan Shifflett said, still overcome with emotion long after the awards had been handed out. “It’s both. It’s losing this match … and it’s knowing I’ll never play for my mom again. My mom has always been my best friend growing up, and playing together like this just made us even close, even stronger.”

There may very well be a state title in Langley’s future — and even in Sue Shifflett’s. But the remarkable run the Saxons made to this year’s title game will always hold a special place in her heart.

“Certainly it would mean a whole lot to get that first state title,” Sue Shifflett said. “But
obviously, I think I’d be lying if I didn’t say that this was a little
more important than anything.”

Though the ending to this season was far from perfect, the accomplishments this group of Saxons made will go down in the schools’ record books. They are the only Langley team to advance to the state final four.

“When I think back on the season, the best moments are a combination of so many,” Megan Shifflett said. “The wins over Mills Godwin and Princess Anne, and the Northern Region tournament, especially beating Centreville in that semifinal match to get into the state tournament. All four of those things are something that had never happened before in our years at Langley.”

The Saxons (23-2), though, were not at their best Saturday night against the Wildcats (24-5). Langley struggled to handle Deep Runs’ powerful and precise serves, and fell behind quickly in Game 1 (14-5) and Game 2 (12-6). The third and final game was a much closer, back-and-forth affair, but the Wildcats took the lead for good at 21-20 and proceeded to put the finishing touches on their second consecutive state championship.

Deep Run, which also finished as the runner-up in 2005, is the first team to claim consecutive titles since Hylton of Prince William County did it in 1993 and 1994.

“I really don’t know what it was tonight because they seemed very relaxed, but
not too relaxed,” Sue Shifflett said of her team. “But today we couldn’t pass the ball. We couldn’t pass
the ball and so we couldn’t get our offense going, and that got us
down. Deep Run is so tough, there’s no doubt. But I think if we could
have passed the ball better we could have maneuvered things around and
opened that block up, because they were just camping on our outside. And
that’s difficult to contend with.”

Still, the Saxons’ senior class of Caitlin Ayoub, Michelle Bredehoft, Christina Bumpas, Elizabeth Chin, Rebecca Lee, Sarah Maines, Lisa Scott and Megan Shifflett have much to be proud of.

And the underclassmen — freshmen Katherine Caine, Audrey Dotson and Taylor Nelson, sophomores Lainey Le Blanc, Carlie Owen, Stephanie Plunkett and Elysse Richardson and juniors Mattie Gray and Logan Sebastian — have much to look forward to.

“This has been an awesome year,” Sue Shifflett said. “It was just a fortunate, fortunate thing.
The good Lord was looking out for us and we were able to enjoy it. It’s
been great … and tonight’s loss doesn’t change that.”

** To
see photos from Tuesday’s state quarterfinal win over Princess Anne,Thursday’s state semifinal win over Mills Godwin and Saturday’s state final against Deep Run taken by Angela Watts, go to http://www.printroom.com/ViewGallery.asp?userid=dsmvp&gallery_id=912082

**
Also, check the video player on the home page, or click on the “Volleyball”
sports central link at the top of the page to watch video highlights from all three state playoff games taken by Jimmy Thomas, as well as
video interviews with several Langley players.