By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — An iconic Watauga volleyball season came to an end on Oct. 24. The young Pioneers battled fiercely against the No. 10 seeded Wildcats of Lake Norman, losing 3-0 (21-25, 23-25, 15-25).
The match was as entertaining as a high school volleyball match can get, with long rallies punctuated by powerful kill shots from both sides and blistering digs on either side of the net to keep the ball in play. In each set, the teams traded leads multiple times, though Lake Norman always emerged from the fray with the upper hand. Watauga seemed to take control of the third set, at one point leading 9-4 until the Wildcats got behind the serving of libero Abi Davis for a 7-point run and later surged to a 17-12 advantage.
Known Power
Watauga knew going into the game that Lake Norman was not a pushover. Competing in one of North Carolina’s strongest 4A leagues, the Greater Metro 4A Conference, the Wildcats finished first in league play with a 12-1 record, but rival Cox Mill was awarded the higher seed because of a stronger overall record (now 21-3 vs. Lake Norman’s 19-3).
The Chargers of Cox Mill received the No. 2 seed in the 4A West bracket for the playoffs despite splitting their home and away matches with Lake Norman. The Wildcats won at Cox Mill on Oct. 3, 3-0, but lost at home to the Chargers, 3-2, on Sept. 10.
In fact, the Greater Metro conference had five teams earn spots in the playoffs, including three teams in the upper half of the 32-team 4A West bracket (Cox Mill, Lake Norman and South Iredell).
Zeroing in on Pastusic, adapting
Reflecting the individual skill as well as the Wildcat coaching, Lake Norman did a respectable job in all but containing Watauga’s powerful outside hitter, junior Emma Pastusic, who was limited to 10 kills on the night, frequently blocked or when successful in driving the ball past the Wildcats’ front line, seeing a courageous dig in the back line to keep the ball in play.
Watauga had to find other points of attack, and did, to keep the match not only close but even leading at points. Setter Lainey Gragg recorded 27 assists in distributing the ball to four teammates who recorded kills, including Pastusic, Grace Tillery (12 kills), Ashlyn Smith (5) and Kora Knight (4).
Spectacular defense on both sides
Defensively, Watauga was often spectacular in fielding kill shots off the arms of Lake Norman hitters Izzy Sandoval, Emersyn Reiter and Brooke Lyons, all seniors. For Watauga, freshman libero Caroline Childers continued to show abilities beyond her years, with 24 digs. Defensive specialist Lilli Combs was credited with 16 digs. Other Pioneers included defensive specialists Addi Parker (9 digs) and Kaitlyn Darner (8 digs), and Pastusic demonstrating her versatility on the court with 8 digs.
After the Round 2 match against the Wildcats, Watauga head coach Kim Pryor was gracious in not only praising Lake Norman but also her players’ resilience.
“Lake Norman is a great team,” said Pryor. “It went back and forth. We fought hard. It just didn’t go our way tonight. I am so proud of how our girls showed resilience night after night, day after day. I told them I would go through a season a hundred times (with this group) because it is just a special, special group of girls.”
When a reporter tried to point out that all of the young players on the Watauga roster bode well for next season, Pryor deflected any such thoughts, at least for now.
“Tonight isn’t about that. Tonight is about (our) seniors. They gave everything they had. Those four girls all contributed in a mighty way, not just as players but leaders on and off the court. Tonight is all about them. We’ll talk about next year (at another time),” said Pryor, before adding, “We are excited about the way we ended our season because it was a phenomenal thing.”
Watauga completes the 2024 season with a 6-2 Northwestern Conference record, 10-9 overall — and at least the 17th consecutive season of making the state playoffs.
SELECTED WATAUGA STATISTICS
- Lainey Gragg: 27 assists, 7 digs, 1 kill
- Caroline Childers: 24 digs
- Grace Tillery: 12 kills, 1 stuff block, 4 digs
- Emma Pastusic: 10 kills, 2 service aces, 1 stuff block, 8 digs
- Addi Parker: 9 digs, 1 assist
- Ashlyn Smith: 5 kills, 1 dig
- Kaitlyn Darner: 8 digs
- Lilli Combs: 16 digs, 1 assist
- Kora Knight: 4 kills, 1 stuff block
- Hadleigh Windish: 2 digs
- Bella Wade: 1 service ace
OTHER 4A ROUND 2 SCORES
- No. 1 Marvin Ridge def. No. 17 Southwest Guilford, 3-0
- No. 8 Myers Park def. No. 9 Butler, 3-1 (25-20, 30-28, 31-33, 25-20)
- No. 12 Northern Guilford def. No. 5 Hough, 3-2
- No. 4 Grimsley def. No. 13 Weddington, 3-1 (25-16, 25-14, 15-25, 25-0)
- No. 3 Reagan def. No. 14 South Iredell, 3-0 (25-8, 25-15, 25-23)
- No. 11 Cuthbertson def. No. 8 T C Roberson, 3-2
- No. 10 Lake Norman def. No. 7 Watauga, 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-15)
- No. 2 Cox Mill def. No. 15 West Forsyth, 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-20, 26-24)
OTHER SCORES OF INTEREST
- 3A WEST: No. 5 Carson def. No. 12 Hickory, 3-0
- 3A WEST: No. 4 Ashe County def. No. 13 North Lincoln, 3-2 (23-25, 25-16, 25-27, 29-27, 16-14)
BONUS PHOTOS
