By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Volleyball broke new ground in the High Country on Oct. 28. In part, it was because No. 1 seeded Watauga outlasted the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 6A West’s No. 2 seed, Kings Mountain, 3-2, in a sizzling 5-set thriller (20-25, 25-23, 25-23, 23-25, 15-9).
Mostly, though, it was because of the records broken. Let’s get the individual records out of the way, first.
Now at 565 kills and counting, the Pioneers’ senior outside hitter Emma Pastusic established a new single season record for kills on Oct. 28. At the same time, setter Lainey Gragg went over the 1,000 mark for assists in the season. She now sits at 1,023, with one more game — the NCHSAA 6A State Championship — to go, in Raleigh on Nov. 1.
Those are great accomplishments and kudos to the Pioneers’ dynamic duo, to be sure. But the “new ground?” Well, that is the opportunity for a record crowd — including opposing student sections whipping themselves into a proverbial frenzy — to watch high school volleyball at its finest.
You might have been able to squeeze a dozen more people into Lentz Eggers Gym. Kings Mountain brought a large contingent of supporters. They are arguably a little more experienced in going far into the playoffs since they previously won three 3A state titles under the old NCHSAA classification system.
Watauga had not only the largest student section in recent memory — augmented to a large degree by football and men’s soccer players — but also the largest number of supporters from the High Country communities.
In fact, it might have been the largest crowd crammed into Lentz Eggers Gym for any athletic competition, including basketball. And they all got to experience the thrills, spills and chills of a women’s volleyball, 5-set “cliffhanger” played at the highest level.
At first, Watauga couldn’t do anything right. Kings Mountain scored the first eight points of the first set, then jumped out to a 13-5 lead before the Pioneers were able to steady the proverbial ship. The visiting Mountaineers had early control and their grandstand supporters smelled an upset in the making.
But the Pioneers became.. well, they became Pioneers, battling back to make the first set a more respectable 20-25 loss. It was a loss, to be sure, after they had dug a hole for themselves with early errors and mishits, but the late rally spoke to what would come.
The second and third sets were both secured by the Pioneers with identical, 25-23 scores. The fourth set was won by Kings Mountain, also by the slimmest of margins, 25-23. All of them were see-saw battles with long rallies, multiple lead changes, hard to imagine digs to keep the ball in play and, of course, slamma jamma kills by both teams, especially some monstrous attacks off arms of Pastusic and junior outside hitter Ashlyn Smith.
If ever there was a set where the Pioneers bordered on comfortable, it was in the decisive fifth set, which they won, 15-9. As Watauga appeared to assert control, the Mountaineers became more mistake-prone.
Next up for Watauga is the penultimate match of the season, the NCHSAA 6A State Women’s Volleyball Championship. The Pioneers will take on the winner of the 6A East Championship match on Oct. 28, J.H. Rose, which defeated No. 2 seeded Gray’s Creek, 3-0, according the Fayetteville Observer. Set scores were unavailable.
SELECTED WATAUGA INDIVIDUAL STATS
Kills: Emma Pastusic (29), Ashlyn Smith (15), Julia Rowan (10), Kora Knight (7), Lainey Gragg (2)
Service Aces: Ember Honeycutt (2), Caroline Childers (2), Emma Pastusic (1), Ashlyn Smith (1)
Blocks: Addie Stough (3), Emma Pastusic (2), Julia Rowan (1), Lainey Gragg (1), Kora Knight (1)
Assists: Lainey Gragg (54), Caroline Childers (5), Ashlyn Smith (1)
Digs: Caroline Childers (33), Emma Pastusic (20), Ashlyn Smith (15), Lilli Combs (12), Gracie Phelps (2), Kora Knight (1), Addie Stough (1), Julia Rowan (1)
BONUS PHOTOS
