RICHMOND — Since First Colonial’s first day of tryouts on July 31, it was all or nothing for the Patriots.
After a heartbreaking loss to Midlothian in last year’s state title game, the Patriots came into the season with the goal to avenge that loss.
They did just that on Friday, beating Riverside 25-17, 22-25, 25-15 and 27-25 to win the Class 5 state title at VCU’s Siegel Center.
“It’s pretty special,” said head coach Edie Magula, who was fighting back tears. “It’s just pretty special.”
It’s a bittersweet victory for First Colonial. In 2015, Del Rodil, an assistant coach with the Patriots, tragically passed away. Rodil had been with Magula for 19 years, winning three state titles. After his passing, the team wanted to win a fourth title for him, but had been unable to do so.
With “4 Del” enscribed on the jersey of each Patriots player Friday, First Colonial took home its first title since 2014.
“It was all or nothing,” said senior Jules Dooren, who recorded 10 digs. “We went all out every single day with the end goal of being here and finishing this game.”
Down 3-1 to start the match, the Patriots went on a 6-0 run to take a 7-3 lead and forced Riverside, who entered Friday’s match undefeated, to call a timeout. Despite a late rally from the Rams, First Colonial never relinquished the lead in the first set, beating Riverside 25-17.
The Rams opened the scoring in the second set, but after another early run by the Patriots, First Colonial took leads of 15-9 and 17-11. Trailing by six late in the set, Riverside managed to go on a 7-1 run to tie the game at 18. With the momentum in the Rams’ favor, Riverside used a 7-4 run to win the second set and tie the match at a game apiece.
In the third set, and tied at 5, the Patriots scored four consecutive points to take a 9-5 lead. First
Colonial took control the rest of the way in the set, beating the Rams 25-15 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
“We’ve trained for this for so long,” senior Kayla Foley said. “We just knew that we just wanted to finish the match. We knew that we could, so we just gave it all that we got.”
🏐First Colonial won its first @VHSL_ girls volleyball state championship since 2014 on Friday. Full story at https://t.co/n6oiHE7sb7.
📹: Colton Wood. pic.twitter.com/yU8s2PHdJS— 757Teamz (@757teamz) November 18, 2023
Foley, a Michigan State commit, registered 23 digs and one ace to end her high school career.
“It means a lot to me,” Foley said. “I’ve played for (coach Magula) since sixth grade, so just being able to finish off my season winning a state championship means a lot to me. It’s very special.”
The fourth set was tightly contested, with neither team holding a lead of more than three and the score tied 13 times. Trying to break a set point down 26-25, Riverside attempted to block a shot from First Colonial senior Keely Heffelfinger, but the block sent the ball out of bounds and gave the Patriots the win.
“It’s kind of the bittersweet ending that we all asked for when we were freshmen,” Dooren said. “We just dreamed of it. It hasn’t hit yet that we won. It’s just crazy.”
First Colonial ends its season at 27-1 and 16-0 in region play. Despite the departure of four seniors, Magula is optimistic for next season.
“The four seniors are very important to our success this season,” Magula said. “It’s going to be a big hole to fill when they’re gone. We’ll try our best to get back here. We will see what happens.”
