By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Certainly, a four-set loss (21-25, 25-20, 19-25, 22-25) to the visiting Hickory Red Tornadoes was disappointing, but the see-saw battle was something to build off of for the Watauga High School volleyball team.
“This was our first match coming into the season,” said Watauga head coach Kim Pryor, afterwards. “I feel great about where we are. We have a few adjustments to make but I am really, really pleased with what I saw today.”
Watauga is bringing a fairly young team into the 2025 season.
“We had a lot of sophomores last year that are now juniors,” said Pryor. “We grew together last season and I feel that will be even more evident as we get further into our season. Hickory is a tough team to play right out of the starting gate, but as we adjust and make changes and work on some things, we will be fine.”
In three of the four sets, the Pioneers jumped out to early leads only to have the Red Tornadoes scramble back and take control.
“Overall, as a team, we can be scrappier,” said Pryor. “We had a few lulls that are uncharacteristic of Watauga volleyball but we will fix those and move on.”
Starting libero Caroline Childers was one of the very few freshmen on last year’s varsity, so part of the growth from one year to the next — and comes into the season with a lot of optimism.
“I am very excited to be back playing. I love my team and I love my teammates. I think we are going to have a great season. Over the summer, I played travel ball with App Volleyball 15 Elite, but playing for the high school team is a little different. Tonight, I thought we fought pretty hard. There are some things that we can tune up but after a few more practices I expect we will do better, next time.”
One of the notable features of Watauga’s attack is senior Emma Pastusic’s powerful hits, including big serves.
“Emma has been working on her serves and, as a team, we have been talking about serving aggressively,” said Pryor. “She has multiple serves that can be effective, from a top spin to a (different rotation). We use her serves as an advantage for the team. She can attack on all levels, attacking back row, attacking front row. As we perfect that, and with everyone else doing the same thing, we should have great (results).”
Statistical leaders for the Pioneers:
- Kills: Emma Pastusic (17), Kora Knight (9)
- Assists: Lainey Gragg (35)
- Digs: Carolina Childers (26), Ashlyn Smith (12)
- Service Aces: Lainey Gragg (3), Caroline Childers (2), Gracie Collins (2), Ashlyn Smith (2), Emma Pastusic (1)
Watauga will have little rest before their next action, Tuesday, Aug. 12, vs. West Wilkes, also at Lentz Eggers Gym. The junior varsity match is slated for 4:30 p.m., with varsity scheduled to follow at 6 p.m.
