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Abbey Eavers goes up for an attack in Riverheads Class 1 state quarterfinal win over Middlesex Saturday, November 16.(Photo: Patrick Hite/The News Leader)

GREENVILLE - For the second straight season, Riverheads beat Middlesex in the Class 1 state quarterfinals. And this year the Gladiators did it in straight sets.

The Red Pride won 25-13, 25-11, 25-16 to advance to the state semifinals Tuesday night. Riverheads will travel to Rappahannock, the Region A champion and a five-set winner over Rappahannock County Saturday.

"We really just wanted to keep the momentum up, the energy high and just not get into those unneeded holes," said Riverheads senior Abbey Eavers, who finished with 12 kills andfour digs.

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Outside of the first few moments of the match, Riverheads didn't find itself in many holes. Middlesex jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first set before a kill by Sydney Phillips sparked a 9-0 run. Phillips had another kill in the run, while Eavers added a couple andSam Persinger added a pair of aces.

Middlesex never got closer than three the rest of the set.

Riverheads players celebrate beating Middlesex in the Class 1 state quarterfinals Saturday, November 16.(Photo: Patrick Hite/The News Leader)

Riverheads jumped on top 5-1 in the second set and never trailed. Then, after falling behind 12-11 in the final set, Riverheads went on a 5-0 run with help from a Gracie Fulton kill, and never looked back.

Dayton Moore finished with 26 assists. Phillips had six kills and eight digs in the win.

"I think it was very important to us, not just me, but as a team, we all worked super hard for this and we really wanted to go back," Phillips said of reaching the semifinals.

More: PHOTOS: Riverheads volleyball advances to state semifinals

Riverheads still has another step left before equalling last year's team, and needs two more wins to go a step beyond what Riverheads volleyball did in 2018. Last season the Gladiators reachedthe state championship match before coming up short of the title.

"We just want to redeem ourselves," Riverheads coach Nyssa Stapleton said. "We want to get back to where we were and then just prove that we can play a lot better than we did last year."

Eavers said they knew a little about Middlesex after playing them last year. In that match, Riverheads won in four sets. The Gladiatorstook that knowledge from a year ago into Saturday's match.

"And then played smart around what we knew they had," Eaverssaid

Riverheads players celebrate an ace in the Class 1 state quarterfinal win over Middlesex Saturday, November 16.(Photo: Patrick Hite/The News Leader)

Middlesex coach Brian Walton noticed a few differences between the Riverheads team he saw this year and the one they lost to last season.

"The looked more scrappy," he said. "Still, No. 5 [Eavers] is the go-to. We knew that coming in and still couldn't do much with it ... [Riverheads] was definitely the better team than we were today."

More: Staunton's Jennifer Williams finding her place with Virginia Tech volleyball

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Riverheads heads back to state semifinals with sweep of Middlesex - The News Leader