By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Volleyball matches don’t get to be much more fun than the Oct. 8 morning contest at Lentz Eggers Gym between Northwestern Conference perennial champion Watauga and NCHSAA 3A heavyweight, Fred T. Foard high schools. In the end, the Pioneers prevailed, 3-1 (19-25, 25-14, 28-26, 25-20), and it is just what WHS head coach Kim Pryor had in mind for scheduling a pair of power opponents on an early autumn Saturday, just past the middle of the regular season.
Coming into their Oct. 8 non-conference match, Watauga and Foard had something in common. The Pioneers’ only loss was an early season (Aug. 19), 3-2 defeat at the hands of North Iredell, which competes in the same Western Foothills 3A Conference as the Tigers of Fred T. Foard. As recently as Oct. 5, Foard dropped its second league encounter to the Olin, N.C. school that sits atop the Western Foothills conference standings, undefeated, with the Tigers in second.
All four of the sets played in Lentz Eggers Gym on Saturday were nail biters, filled with rallies, runs, powerful kill shots, resounding blocks, and keeping-the-ball-alive digs. It was as good of a high school volleyball match as the High Country is likely to see.
“They run your emotions high and low, but those sorts of matches are what makes volleyball fun,” acknowledged Pioneer head coach Pryor afterward. “And this sort of well-skilled opponent is just what we needed, to help us polish our game for the upcoming 4A state playoffs where we are more likely to meet teams like this beginning in Round 1 and they only get better and better as you advance.”
Later in the day, Watauga dropped its second match of the season to yet another 4A power, T C Roberson of Asheville, 3-2. The Pioneers split with Roberson in 2021, knocking the Asheville team out of the playoffs in their second meeting.
“There is a good chance we will see Roberson again, in the state tournament,” said Pryor, “so this was a good opportunity to see what they have this year.”
SELECTED INDIVIDUAL STATS FOR WATAUGA VS. FOARD
- Kenzie Baldwin 4 assists, 2 service aces, 21 digs
- Evie Robbins 1 service ace, 20 digs
- Camryn Norris 26 assists, 1 service ace, 8 digs
- Faith Watson 3 kills, 2 stuff blocks, 1 dig
- Brooke Scheffler 24 kills, 24 assists, 2 stuff blocks, 1 service ace, 12 digs
- Carolina Farthing 27 kills, 1 stuff block, 3 service aces, 13 digs
- Kate McCullough 3 stuff blocks, 1 dig
- Sara Marlowe 1 kill, 3 stuff blocks
- Emma Pastusic 4 kills, 1 stuff block, 2 digs
