BONUS PHOTOS: Watauga advances to Round 3 with 3-0 sweep over A C Reynolds

October 21, 2025

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Watauga defensive specialist Graycie Collins served up three consecutive aces in Set 3 to blunt A C Reynolds momentum on Oct. 21. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — If there was any doubt Watauga High School’s varsity women’s volleyball team deserved the No. 1 seed in the state playoffs 6A West bracket, they were cast aside in Round 2 vs. A C Reynolds (Asheville) on Oct. 21. The Pioneers swept a tall, athletic Rockets side, 3-0, 25-16, 25-15, 25-12.

BONUS PHOTOS at bottom of article. Click any image for larger version and Slide Show Mode

With the regular tenants of Lentz Eggers Gym falling behind (6-2) the visitors in the first set, there may have been some uncertainty in the grandstands about whether the Pioneers had met their match, but if those sentiments existed they weren’t shared by the players on the court.

An athletic sophomore libero Caroline Childers digs out an A C Reynolds kill attempt on Oct. 21, in Round 2 of the stat playoffs. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports

Junior outside hitter Ashlyn Smith explained afterwards that falling behind helps the Pioneers become more focused.

“Not just one person, but the whole team… We get a chip on our shoulder,” said Smith. “Our team is built on competitiveness and the mission. We all share that passion and wanting to win. So whenever we get down by any amount, we get fired up.”

The Series: Views to A (Emma Pastusic) Kill

While the Watauga offensive attack was again led by setter Lainey Gragg, outside hitters Smith and Emma Pastusic, and middle blockers Kora Knight and Rae Coffey, at critical moments the Pioneers got inspiring play from reserve and role players.

Case in point: defensive specialist Graycie Collins came on to serve in the third and final set when the Rockets seemed to be gaining some momentum — and promptly rattled off three straight service aces.

Asked later if she had eaten her Wheaties that morning, Collins smiled broadly.

“There was a lot of energy in the gym,” said Collins. “Plus, this was my first time playing in the state playoffs. We knew AC Reynolds is a good team, that this wasn’t going to be a complete blowout and they gave us what we expected. As far as the serves, I was just aiming for the seams (in the opposing team’s positioning), with pace.”

Watauga’s Emma Pastusic not only is a dangerous, powerful ball striker as an outside hitter, but offers some thunderous serves, too, such as here vs. A C Reynolds in Round 2 of the North Carolina 6A state playoffs. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports

Head coach Kim Pryor said later, “Serving is one of the most underrated spots in volleyball. A lot of times you have players come into serve for your (middle blockers). Some of that is for serving but some of it, too, is to play tougher defense. I look down the bench and I have multiple people I could put in those roles, at any time. Graycie (Collins) and Ember (Honeycutt) are among those and they just step up and do the job.”

Overall, Pryor pointed out a lot of positives for the Pioneers’ first match in the playoffs against a quality opponent.

“You could tell A C Reynolds is a solid team and they have some height. They were pretty effective on offense and had great servers, too. We just prepared our normal game and were prepared to play our game. We passed real well and had some good serve receive play, defensively. That (enabled) our offense to get clicking. Lainey (Gragg) was able to spread the ball around to multiple hitters. We just found success in every component of our offense. Defensively, we covered behind the blocks really, really well. It was just a complete game.”

Freshman Ember Honeycutt serves up an ‘ace’ in Set 3 of Watauga’s match vs. A C Reynolds in Round 2 of the state playoffs. After the 3-0 sweep of the Rockets, Honeycutt told High Country Sports, ‘Honestly, this is such a great experience being a freshman playing on varsity with all of these amazing teammates. It is such a great environment. On the ace, I was just aiming for the seam between their libero and defensive specialist.’ Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports

Watauga’s defensive prowess as well as A C Reynolds’ abilities in attacking were borne out in the numbers. Four Pioneers were in double figures for digs, led by sophomore libero Caroline Childers with 16, setter Lainey Gragg with 12, while Pastusic and Smith recorded 10 apiece. Lilli Combs added seven digs.

That setter Lainey Gragg received some good passes from her back row teammates serve receives was also evident in the numbers and her ability to spread the ball around to various Pioneer attackers. Watauga’s powerful outside hitter, Pastusic, led the team with 16 kills, but six other Pioneers recorded kills, led by Knight (kills), Smith (8) and Julia Rowan (6) in her welcome first return from an early season shoulder injury.

Watauga outside hitter Julia Rowan (foreground), shown here with middle blocker Rae Coffey, made a welcome return to the Pioneers in Round 2 of the state playoffs vs. A C Reynolds after suffering an early season shoulder injury. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports

Reflecting back on Watauga’s 24-1 record overall and undefeated (10-0) Northwestern 6A/7A Conference play, Pryor acknowledge her roster depth — and team attitude.

“Because I can put two quality teams on the court (in practice), we face good competition within every practice. But what makes this team truly special and is probably the greatest reason for our success is that they are all cheering for each other,” said Pryor.

Up next for the Pioneers is a Round 3 pairing with No. 8-seeded Sun Valley (Monroe, N.C.), which posted a 3-0 sweep over No. 9 Asheboro in Round 2 (25-12, 25-15, 25-18).

Watauga’s junior outside hitter Ashlyn Smith could well be called, ‘Miss Versatility” — shown here making a back row ‘dig’ to keep the ball in play and passing to setter Lainey Gragg in Round 2 of the NC 6A state playoffs against A C Reynolds. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports

Other Northwestern 6A teams to advance to Round 3 included No. 5 Alexander Central, a 3-1 winner over No. 21 Charlotte Catholic (25-21, 23-25, 25-14, 25-15). Like Watauga, Alexander Central had a Round 1 bye. Charlotte Catholic advanced by upsetting another NWC team, No. 12 St. Stephens in a 5-set, Round 1 thriller, 3-2 (25-20, 19-25, 20-25, 25-17, 15-9).

No. 11-seeded South Caldwell, another Northwestern Conference 6A member school, advanced from Round 1 with a 3-0 sweep over No. 22 Eastern Guilford, but fell to No. 6 Southeast Guilford in Round 2, 3-1.

If No. 5 seeded Alexander Central and No. seeded Watauga both win in Round 3, the Northwestern Conference rivals will get a chance to meet for a third time during the 2025 season in Round 4, the Regional semifinals.

Not all scores have been reported to NCHSAA as of this writing, so we will update the story with the full Round 2 winners and Round 3 pairings after they become available.

SELECTED WATAUGA GAME STATS VS. A C REYNOLDS

Kills: Emma Pastusic (16), Kora Knight (9), Ashlyn Smith (8), Julia Rowan (6), Lainey Gragg (1), Addie Stough (1)

Service Aces: Graycie Collins (3), Caroline Childers (2), Ember Honeycutt (1), Emma Pastusic (1), Ashlyn Smith (1), Lainey Gragg (1)

Assists: Lainey Gragg (33), Graycie Collins (1), Caroline Childers (1)

Blocks: Lainey Gragg (2), Emma Pastusic (1), Addie Stough (1)

Digs: Caroline Childers (16), Lainey Gragg (12), Emma Pastusic (10), Ashlyn Smith (10), Lilli Combs (7), Julia Rowan (2), Addie Stough (2), Kora Knight (1)