By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Remaining undefeated so far in the club’s maiden season, Watauga’s men’s volleyball team dispatched both of their first two opponents this past week, including Tri City Christian Academy (in High Point) on March 28 and Lexington High School (Home) on March 30.
What the fledgling Pioneer team displays in skill after only 14 practice sessions since forming the team they make up for in enthusiasm — as exhibited by the animated bench support for whoever might be on the court at any given time. That said, the Watauga roster is filled with athletes, mostly from the football team, so the fact that they are advancing pretty rapidly is not at all surprising.
“None of these guys have played much volleyball before,” noted head coach Kim Pryor, who doubles as the women’s head coach in the fall semester. “We spent the first week only on two things: passing and setting. The second week we focused on understanding on some of the technical aspects and rules, such as the rotations, as well as serving the ball and attacking. I am impressed by the team members’ athleticism and enthusiasm for learning volleyball. We are still learning a lot of the basics, but they are advancing pretty rapidly.”
Freshman Brady Lindenmuth attributes a lot of the team’s early success to the discipline they have learned in the football program.
“Those acronyms that Coach Habich and the assistant football coaches repeat over and over again, well we live them and they carry over into other sports as well as life. GPE: Give Perfect Effort. WTW: Work to Win. TBM: Team Before Me. Put all of those things together and, with discipline, we have a winning formula in whatever we are doing,” said Lindenmuth.
Having been around volleyball since he was carried courtside by his coach mother, cradled in her arms as a 4-month old toddler, the now 6-5 football wide receiver and linebacker Jackson Pryor probably has a head start on playing the game. Like his teammates, though, he has not played much other than informal pickup games at the beach and perhaps in PE activities.
“We have been thinking about this for awhile,” Pryor, a junior, told High Country Sports after the Lexington match in Lentz Eggers Gym. “Now we have it put together and it is great to see so many of my football teammates and friends enjoying this experience and participating as well as supporting each other so enthusiastically.”
While currently a club sport without varsity status, Coach Pryor explained that may be changing.
“There are several high school age men’s volleyball clubs in North Carolina,” said Pryor. “There is a petition circulating to formalize the sport and give it varsity status.”
Given the enthusiastic culture already being cultivated at Watauga, the Pioneers are hoping that recognition comes sooner rather than later.
@ Tri-City Christian Academy, March 28
The Pioneers got an early taste of heart-throbbing, intense action in TCCA pushing the match to five sets, with Watauga pulling out a win in the team’s first competition: 18-25, 25-18, 25-23, 30-32, 15-9.
Steele Nealy, Trathan Gragg and outside hitter Jackson Pryor arguably had the most impressive stat lines on the night. Nealy recorded 19 assists and four service aces while Pryor tallied 14 kills, two service aces, two solo blocks and two block assists. Meanwhile, Gragg added a whopping seven service aces as well as eight kills.
Patrick Nguyen (4 service aces), Bennett Lappin (3 service aces) and Brady Lindenmuth (5 kills) also made significant contributions to the stat sheet in the win.
vs. Lexington
Some combination of being home in the friendly confines of Lentz Eggers Gym in front of a large, partisan crowd and having a winning match under their belts, the Pioneers swept Lexington Senior by successively wider margins: 25-21, 25-17, 25-11.
The Pioneers were led, statistically, by the same trio — plus one:
- Steele Nealy: 20 assists, 3 service aces
- Jackson Pryor: 12 kills, 1 service ace, 2 solo blocks, 5 digs, 6 serve receptions
- Trathan Gragg: 4 service aces, 6 kills, 1 block assist, 5 digs, 5 serve receptions
- Brady Lindenmuth: 2 service aces, 9 kills, 1 solo block
Patrick Nguyen also recorded five digs and four successful serve receptions, while Caleb Dewey was prominent on the stat sheet with a pair of kills and a solo block.
On Monday, April 3, Watauga travels to Morganton to play Draughn High School’s team, then returns home on April 18 to face North Henderson.
