By David Rogers. VALDESE, N.C. — After sweeping Draughn on April 3, 25-23, 25-18, 25-18, a few trends are obvious in the Watauga men’s volleyball team’s first season.
First, the young Pioneers are quick learners and know how to win. After less than a month in existence and after the first three matches they are undefeated, 3-0.
Second, they tend to increase the margin of set victories with each successive set in matches.
Third, Watauga’s individual athletes are getting more skillful with each match, improving by leaps and bounds both in terms of their individual skills as well as in their team skills.
The Pioneers have already beaten men’s volleyball teams with longer competitive histories, some measured in years vs. the weeks or even days of existence that is Watauga.
“This start to the season has been pretty remarkable, pretty special,” said head coach Kim Pryor after the Draughn sweep. “It is testament not only to the athleticism these guys are bringing to the team, individually, but also how hard they are working to learn the skills necessary to successfully compete. This week we worked on defense and that showed tonight. And, very important, our timing from set to kill shot has gotten much, much better. The setters are doing a much better job of placing the ball for the hitters and the hitters are better at anticipating when the ball is going to be at its highest point and striking it there.”
That the team is improving rapidly is not lost on the players.
“The jump in our abilities from Game 1 to Game 2 was pretty significant,” said designated setter Steele Nealy as the celebration was subsiding after the Draughn win, “but the improvement from Game 2 to Game 3 continued and maybe was even a bigger jump. I think that will continue as we continue to get practices in and matches played.”
Asked about the team’s tendency to increase the margin of victory as the sets progress in a match, Trathan Gragg explained, “Definitely as we settle into the sets things are going better. In the first one we were a little nervous. We don’t know how they are going to play or what their style of play is, but as the sets go on we get more settled in. We play a lot better when we are more settled in.”
It turns out that the enthusiastic, even what some might call rowdy or rambunctious support from the bench players has been inherited from earlier years.
“When we played church (basketball), a lot of those chants and cheers came from those teams as well as from football,” said Nealy. “That support for one another is being brought over from other sports. It really helps the guys on the court to feel good and play better.”
Coach Pryor said that an area where the team need immediate improvement is starting matches less hesitant and more confident and aggressive right from the get-go but noted, “That confidence in their abilities will come naturally with time and experience.”
The Pioneers have roughly two weeks off before their next match vs. North Henderson in Lentz Eggers Gym on Tuesday, April 18, 5 p.m.
KEY STATS
- Steele Nealy – 22 assists, 2 kills
- Jackson Pryor – 11 kills, 1 service ace, 3 solo blocks, 5 digs, 4 service receptions
- Trathan Gragg – 11 kills, 2 service aces
- Patrick Nguyen – 2 service aces, 6 digs, 2 service receptions
- Brady Lindenmuth – 3 kills, 1 service ace, 1 solo block
- Bennett Lappin – 1 service ace, 2 service receptions, 3 digs
BONUS PHOTOS
