By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Unity, said Watauga’s junior outside hitter Ashlyn Smith afterwards, was the key to the Pioneers’ two, 3-set sweeps of visiting North Iredell and Providence on Aug. 23, at Lentz Eggers Gym. The Boone volleyballers certainly seemed to be “clicking” against the Raiders in the morning tilt (25-12, 25-17, 25-12) and vs. the Panthers in the nightcap (25-11, 25-14, 25-19).
“There was so much growth today, across offense, defense and across every player. We are playing together. Unity on our team is so strong right now. Coming off these wins as well as our first loss, we have just come out, ready to win. Our unity really makes us play together,” said a smiling Smith.
Middle blocker Kora Knight had six kills in each of the matches against North Iredell and Providence, adding a couple of stuff blocks against the Raiders and a pair of digs against the Panthers.
“We have connected in multiple, different ways,” said Knight after the Providence match. “It was nice to play against a slower team to make sure we (worked) some things out. We played our strongest rotation first (to aim for an early lead). And our serving tonight was really good. We have been working on that a lot in practice.”
In the middle of the first set, with the scored tied, 8-8, Watauga finally gained separation on the scoreboard. A lot of that came with sophomore libero Carolina Childers serving, running off a string of miscues by Providence in serve receive. Apparently, good serving was contagious, because against Providence the Pioneers rattled off a whopping 13 service aces as a team, five by Childers.
“In the middle of the match,” said Watauga head coach Kim Pryor, “I asked how many aces we had. That had become a huge part of our game. Aces can be such a lift as you are going through the grind of a match. Aces can separate you from other teams. That was great to see us getting the ball to the right places and getting our serves in, honestly. You can crank out a good lead if you can get some aces.”
Pryor shared that in practice the team has been working purposefully on the serving skills.
“In general, we are trying to have better speed, velocity, on the ball. That velocity should result in more aces but the balance there is the potential for more misses. But we are getting good balance now, getting balls in with good velocity and getting them to the right spots,” said Pryor.
Since the season-opening, 3-1 loss to Hickory on Aug. 11, the Pioneers have reeled off four straight victories against historically tough opponents in West Wilkes, Southwestern Randolph, North Iredell and Providence. All have been 3-0 sweeps.
On Monday, Aug. 25, Watauga will have an opportunity to exact a measure of revenge for that one loss when they travel to Hickory for a rematch against the Red Tornadoes. They’ll follow that up with three more scheduled, non-conference matches on the road against Ashe County (Aug. 27), Forbush (Aug. 28) and at A.L. Brown (Sept. 3), before returning home for a final non-conference contest vs. Hickory Christian Academy (Sept. 4). They begin 6A/7A Northwestern Conference play on the road on Sept. 9, at Freedom (Morganton).
STATISTICAL LEADERS vs. PROVIDENCE
- Kills: Emma Pastusic (18), Addi Stough (7), Kora Knight (6), Ashlyn Smith (5)
- Assists: Lainey Gragg (35), Caroline Childers (3), Ava Zaragoza (2)
- Digs: Caroline Childers (15), Lilli Combs (11), Ashlyn Smith (8)
- Service Aces: Caroline Childers (5), Ashlyn Smith (4), Emma Pastusic (2)
STATISTICAL LEADERS vs. NORTH IREDELL
- Kills: Emma Pastusic (14), Ashlyn Smith (11), Kora Knight (6), Addie Stough (4)
- Assists: Lainey Gragg (37)
- Digs: Ashlyn Smith (17), Caroline Childers (13), Lilli Combs (9)
- Stuff Blocks: Kora Knight (2), Addie Stough (1), Ashlyn Smith (1), Julia Rowan (1)
- Service Aces: Ashlyn Smith (3), Caroline Childers (3), Emma Pastusic (2)
BONUS PHOTOS
