By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — At first glance, Watauga Volleyball’s 3-0 sweep of Southwestern Randolph (Asheboro, N.C.) on Aug. 15 may look like it was a proverbial walk in the park, but the set scores suggest otherwise: 25-23, 25-19, 25-21. In short, it was exactly the kind of early season test Pioneer head coach Kim Pryor was hoping for when scheduling the Cougars as the 2023 season opener.
“Southwestern Randolph is a solid program with a great coaching staff, so you know coming in they are going to be a strong adversary,” Pryor said after the match. “Blocking was critical this evening and at critical moments. Southwestern Randolph had a great attack all the way across the net. Our blockers responded and our defense responded. It was fun to watch.”
There were thunderous kill shots from both sides of the net and courageous digs on the other end of them. In between, there were dramatic saves, timely passes, and perfect sets. It was as entertaining a high school volleyball match as anyone could imagine near season’s end, much less at the beginning of the 2023 Watauga campaign.
And it was hardly surprising, given the programs’ respective pedigrees. Under the direction of head coach Darby Kennedy since 2013, Southwestern Randolph has developed into a North Carolina volleyball power. As late as 2020, the Cougars were ranked in the top 25 in the state at the 3A classification, according to data maintained by MaxPreps. Declining school enrollment moved the school down to 2A in 2021, when NCHSAA did the periodic realignment of more than 500 schools in North Carolina — and the Cougars promptly won the 2A state championship title, then carved a path to the 2A state semifinals a year ago.
Watauga has long been an accomplished, 3A/4A contender under the leadership of Pryor (2007, 2008, 2009; 2020-present) and Kris Hagaman (2010-2019), including seven consecutive 3A/4A Northwestern Conference championships and deep runs into the state playoffs, including a No. 3 finish in the North Carolina 4A West Division in 2022 with a 23-3 record. Pryor and her staff have long been involved in the High Country region’s youth volleyball programs that eventually lead to the high school team.
BACK AND FORTH
Both the first and third sets of this contest were nailbiters. Every time Watauga looked like they might pull away, Southwestern Randolph would rally to even the score, even poking ahead for a point or two before the Pioneers finished with a flourish. In the second set, the Cougars jumped out to a 9-4 advantage before Watauga began to nibble away at the deficit, then run away with the set.
Even after losing all-District performers Caroline Farthing and Brooke Scheffler and other key senior performers to graduation last spring, Watauga seems to have a never-ending supply of athletes in the development pipeline to sustain the winning culture.
“I’ve been playing volleyball here since the 4th grade, so six or seven years now,” explained Brooklyn Stanbery, one of the latest big hitters to grace the Watauga volleyball stage. “We work hard all summer. Our team is always like a family. We always have good relationships with one another. We are all friends even outside of volleyball. We spend quality time together and that helps us be better together on the court.”
Stanbery, a senior outside hitter, recorded 17 kills in the three sets vs. Southwestern Randolph, including a whopping 0.444 hitting percentage and a 47.2 percent kill percentage out of 36 kill attempts. She plays much taller than her height might otherwise suggest.
“I am not as tall as most hitters, so I have to get up there. I do a lot of weight training and conditioning. A lot squats, a lot of lunges, and a lot of jump roping,” Stanbery shared. “I have to be prepared to do my part in the attack. There are a lot things that happen before the kill shot, things that others on the team are accomplishing before the ball gets to my opportunity. Someone has successfully received a serve or dug out an opponent’s kill shot, keeping the ball in play. Someone has passed the ball to one of our setters. Then that setter has put the ball in the best position possible for me to go for the kill shot. I have to be prepared to do my part in that entire sequence.”
Watauga libero and designated setter Evie Robbins, also a senior, is also a part of that sequence. For her contributions, which included two service aces and 16 digs, Robbins was named “Player of the Match” by the coaching staff.
“Good play results from a lot of repetitions,” said Robbins. “Every single day in practice. It might get boring but it really does help. Serving every day. Passing every day. Setting every day.”
Stanbery was not the only big hitter against Southwestern Randolph. Emma Pastusic, just a sophomore, recorded 18 kills in 34 attempts (52.9 percent).
On Aug. 12, at the scrimmage tournament hosted by Catawba College, Watauga’s head coach told High Country Sports in an interview that one of the Pioneer varsity’s better skills in 2023 was blocking. They needed every bit of that against Southwestern Randolph.
Pryor deftly deflected a question about individual Pioneers for this match.
“Honestly, the strength of this team is the team,” she said. “We have people doing special things in every single position, throughout the rotation. When you have that, it is hard on the opposing teams because they can’t pinpoint a weakness. No matter what kind of (talent) we had in the past and has moved on, these girls have the same goals and they work hard. The next generation of girls have stepped in and kept up. We are not missing a beat from last year and it is amazing. I am really, really proud of the work they put in and the way they are stepping onto the court with confidence. They are playing their hearts out.”
INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS
- Brooklyn Stanbery: 17 kills, 1 service ace, 13 digs, 20 serve receives
- Emma Pastusic: 18 kills, 1 block assist, 4 digs
- Evie Robbins: 2 service aces, 16 digs, 2 assists, 17 serve receives
- Madi Combs: 23 assists, 8 digs, 1 service ace
- Olivia Kop: 3 service aces, 6 digs
- Kasey Gragg: 2 kills, 1 block assist, 3 serve receives
- Lainey Gragg: 16 assists, 7 digs
- Kora Knight: 2 kills, 2 block assists
- Kate McCullough: 1 serve receive, 2 block assists, 2 kills
- Sara Marlowe: 1 kill, 1 service ace, 2 block assists, 1 dig
- Grace Tillery: 12 serve receives, 1 solo block, 2 block assists, 1 kill
BONUS PHOTOS
