By David Rogers. TAYLORSVILLE, N.C. — All that glitters is not gold. It is also the sparkling play of Watauga High School’s volleyball team on Sept. 16, in a showdown of undefeated Northwestern rivals. The Pioneers prevailed in sweeping fashion over the host Alexander Central Cougars, 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-12).
Watauga jumped out to a 4-0 lead behind the serves of junior outside hitter Ashlyn Smith before the Cougars were able to slip in a point, but then the Pioneers got the ball right back and reeled off even more points behind setter Lainey Gragg’s service acumen.
Without question, what at one time was the most anticipated match of the month turned into somewhat of a rout, as Watauga was organized and in synch, running all their proverbial cylinders.
While Alexander Central mustered a few long rallies that showcased both teams’ defensive and attacking strengths, as the match wore on it became clear who was the better side, at least on this day.
“Alexander Central is a great team, with great hitting,” acknowledged Watauga head coach Kim Pryor after the match. “But we were clicking. We were ‘on’ from the very beginning. We were focused. This may have been the best all around we have played this year. This team keeps wanting to get better and better and better, always better than the last time out.”
With a rowdy crowd and raucous student section behind the Cougars, Watauga thrived.
“Our team loves to play in a hostile environment, a hostile gym,” said Pryor. “They love it. They feed off the energy.”
Sophomore libero Caroline Childers was complimentary of the opponent as well as her teammate.
“Both of these teams are pretty good and I expected a close game. We both have really good hitters. I knew we had to fight really hard to the end and I think we did just that,” said Childers. “We were really together tonight, very much in synch.”
One of those “big hitters” for Watauga was senior outside hitter Emma Pastusic.
“We came out really hot,” said Pastusic, “and that was intentional. We knew that Alexander Central is a really good team. We took advantage of what we perceived were their weaknesses. We have recently been working on our serves, because we thought their serve receive was off a little bit. And we really wanted to get the ball down on attack. We executed well, tonight.”
With the win, Watauga is now in sole possession of first place in Northwestern Conference play, improving their overall record to 13-1, 3-0 in conference play.
Their next opponent (on Sept. 18 at Lentz Eggers Gym in Boone) should be formidable in McDowell, the lone 7A classification (larger school) team in the 6A/7A Northwestern Conference. The Titans are 9-5 overall, 1-2 in Northwestern Conference. In their Sept. 16 match, McDowell swept St. Stephens, 3-0 (25-17, 25-10, 25-19). Their losses were to Alexander Central (3-0) and South Caldwell (3-2).
WATAUGA INDIVIDUAL STATS
- Kills: Emma Pastusic (17), Julia Rowan (7), Ashlyn Smith (5), Kora Knight (5)
- Assists: Lainey Gragg (32)
- Service Aces: Ashlyn Smith (5), Lilli Combs (3), Lainey Gragg (1)
- Digs: Emma Pastusic (11), Caroline Childers (10), Lainey Gragg (9), Ashlyn Smith (8), Lilli Combs (8), Alaina Portaro (4)
JUNIOR VARSITY SWEEPS, TOO
It was a 2-0 sweep for Watauga’s junior varsity team, too, 25-12, 25-13. Kira Beasley and Adeline Tate share top honors in attack, with seven kills apiece. Mia Mitchell’s 18 assists helped set up the attack opportunities. Mitchel and Ember Honeycutt each had three service aces, while Beasley and Honeycutt led the team defensively, with six digs each.
All photographic images by David Rogers for High Country Sports
