Ashe County, Watauga dominate all-NWC volleyball selections

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — After losing a strong group of seniors in 2023 to graduation, a “down year” might have been expected for the Watauga High School women’s volleyball team. In the early matches of the 2024 season, the potential of the up and comers was evident, but so was the rebuilding phase.

The Pioneers struggled in a purposefully challenging non-conference schedule, going 3-6. Most of the losses were 3-0 sweeps but a turning point in the season arguably came on Sept. 5, when they lost a 5-set nail biter to Greater Metro 4A powerhouse, Cox Mill. In taking the Chargers to the brink of victory, Watauga gave notice that the young team was arriving.

From there, the Pioneers rolled on to a 6-2 Northwestern Conference record, 10-9 overall. They split the home-and-home matchups with Ashe County and Alexander Central, but swept through all other conference opponents, officially finishing No. 2 in the overall NWC standings, behind only Ashe County, but earning the top 4A seed coming from the 3A/4A conference in the state playoffs.

Not surprisingly, Ashe County and Watauga dominated the all-NWC selections, the Huskies with seven players recognized, including “Player of the Year” Lanie Bowers and “Coach of the Year” Dalton Lewis.  The Pioneers placed six on the list, including “Offensive Player of the Year” Emma Pastusic. South Caldwell’s Sydnee Bumgarner got the nod as “Defensive Player of the Year”

The Full List of All-NWC Selections