Alexus Foreman stood behind the end line of a court at Virginia Volleyball Center in Sterling and bounced a ball five times with her left hand. The T.C. Williams senior then sent a serve over the net, which West Potomac failed to return.

The ace gave T.C. Williams its 13th straight point. The Titans would extend their lead to 15-0 and cruise to victory in the opening set.

The T.C. Williams volleyball team went on to defeat West Potomac 2-0 (25-6, 26024) in the 17th-place match of the NVVA Invitational on Aug. 29.

While finishing 17th in an 18-team tournament isn’t ideal, first-year T.C. Williams head coach AJ DeSain said he was pleased the Titans were competitive for most of the day despite missing four starters for various reasons.

“For the most part, all day we were competitive, which is good playing with half a lineup with all young kids who aren’t really yet sure exactly what they’re doing,” DeSain said. “It was exciting that we were in as many games [as we were]. Unfortunately, [with a] lack of experience late in games, we weren’t’ able to close. We weren’t able to win the games that I thought we could even with the lineups [we had].”

While T.C. Williams finished 17th at the tournament, DeSain and the Titans are hoping things get better once they’re at full strength.

“Once we get everybody back and healthy and ready to go, with fingers crossed is [Sept. 3] ... we’ve got a chance to be a real good team,” DeSain said, “but it’s all got to come together and we’ve got to figure out how to play together once everybody actually gets back on the court because they’ve been out for a while.”

Foreman, a setter and outside hitter, is one of the Titans’ top players.

“She’s diving all over the place on the floor, she’s covering everything, she’s chasing balls down in the far corner that a normal setter would never consider going for,” DeSain said. “... She’s the heart and soul of our team right now. She’s playing as well as anybody we got.”

Foreman served during the Titans’ 15-0 run to open Saturday’s match against West Potomac.

“You have to get into the zone of ‘I can’t miss my serve,’ and just stay focused, stay in the game,” Foreman said. “Don’t think just because you’ve got a couple points the match is over.”

Fellow seniors Oona Davies, an outside hitter, Olivia Devereaux, a middle blocker, and Amara Edwards, a right side, are also key players for the Titans.

T.C. Williams reached the Conference 7 championship match for the first time in program history last season under then­head coach Michael Burch.

“It’s a lot different than having Burch as a coach," Foreman said. "His philosophies are 10­times different than Burch’s. We have to learn how to adjust to his coaching style.”

The Titans will host South Lakes at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 3