By David Rogers. MARION, N.C. — A double-double by sophomore libero Caroline Childers (19 digs, 16 serve receives) and a near triple-double by senior outside hitter Emma Pastusic (20 kills, 10 serve receives, 8 digs) highlighted Watauga High School’s sweep of Alexander Central on Oct. 15, 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-19), in the championship final of the Northwestern 6A/7A Conference Volleyball Championships tournament, hosted by McDowell High School.
If there were any doubts as to the identity of the best women’s volleyball team in the NWC, the No. 1 seeded Pioneers shattered them in the conference tourney final. This may have been the first post-season conference tournament for the NWC but Watauga was in familiar territory after knocking off all league adversaries in the regular season with 3-0 sweeps before tournament play.
In the championship final, the Cougars confirmed themselves as the deserving No. 2 seed for the tourney, pushing the Pioneers to competitive and close straight set victories. Now the teams await the state tournament seedings and brackets, with Watauga almost certain to get home court advantage that comes with a high seed in the early rounds. The Pioneers’ gaudy, overall record is 23-1, including 10-0 in conference play before the tournament. MaxPreps currently has the Pioneers ranked as the No. 1 team in North Carolina’s 6A classification.
As the No. 9 ranked team in NC’s 6A class, according to MaxPreps, Alexander Central’s 16-7 overall record is likely to earn a spot in the playoffs, too.
INDIVIDUAL MATCH STATISTICS
Kills: Emma Pastusic (20), Ashlyn Smith (7), Kora Knight (6), Gracyn Phelps (3), Addie Stough (3), Lainey Gragg (2), Hannah Adams (1)
Service Aces: Ashlyn Smith (3), Caroline Childers (2), Lainey Gragg (2), Ember Honeycutt (2), Lilli Combs (1), Graycie Collins (1)
Blocks: Addie Stough (3), Emma Pastusic (3), Kora Knight (1)
Digs: Caroline Childers (19), Ashlyn Smith (11), Emma Pastusic (8), Lilli Combs (6), Lainey Gragg (4), Kora Knight (4), Graycie Collins (1), Ember Honeycutt (1)
Assists: Lainey Gragg (35), Ashlyn Smith (2), Lilli Combs (1)
Serve Receive: Ashlyn Smith (19), Caroline Childers (16), Emma Pastusic (10)
