Draft earns a date with Fort

DANA JONES / News Virginian
Published: October 31, 2007

STUARTS DRAFT- Kerby Hatter's high energy and constant pep in her step led No. 1 Stuarts Draft to a 14-25, 25-13, 25-16, 25-11 win over No. 4 Rockbridge County in the opening round of the Southern Valley District tournament on Tuesday.
After falling 25-14 to the Wildcats in Game 1, revenge was on the Cougars' minds as they entered Game 2.  Rachel Maki took the initiative to psych-up the team and led off the game with an ace.  Hatter stirred up the Cougars even more by running around to each individual player on the court, slapping hands and cheering.  Draft took the lead early in the game and never gave it up.  With an 11-0 run the Cougars held the Wildcats to just 13 points, ending with a final score of 25-13.
Hatter never lost confidence in her team and refused to let how they played in Game 1 control how they would play during the rest of the match. 
"We all knew we could play better," Hatter said. "We can't just walk out on the court and win.  We had to play together."
The first game shocked Cougar fans as their team lost to the Wildcats 25-14.  Hannah Patterson showed the Wildcats the way with six service points to start the game. Nothing seemed to make it over the net for the Cougars while key players Tabitha Bowman and Kamron Johnson had constant errors. 
Draft finally got on the board with a kill from Aliya Stevenson, but Rockbridge answered back with a three-point run courtesy of two Danielle Wilson kills and a Cougar error.
Kills from Bowman and a dink from Maki upped the Cougars' score until Rockbridge went on another run - this time four straight.  The game continued in this fashion and the Wildcats never looked back. They finished the game 25-14 with kills from Wilson and Desiree Fitzgerald plus more errors from the Cougars.
Game 3 played out almost the same. The Cougars teased the Wildcats and let them score only three more points in Game 3, concluding the game at 25-16. 
However, Draft wasn't done. The Cougars had a bit more revenge left in them as they destroyed the Wildcats 25-11 in the fourth and final game.
Bowman led the Cougars with 17 kills and 20 digs, aided by Johnson's 15 kills and Maki's nine digs and 23 service points, eight of which were aces. Hatter, the emotional backbone of the team, dished out 34 assists.
  "Hatter is definitely the leader, cheering, shouting and really running the court," said Draft coach Kami Meeteer. "She is an asset to the team."
With the win, Stuarts Draft will host No. 2 Fort Defiance on Thursday with the tournament title on the line. Rockbridge will travel to R.E. Lee that same night for the third-place game and final Region III slot.