By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — A battle for Northwestern Conference supremacy looms large in the near future when Watauga and Alexander Central meet in Taylorsville on Sept. 16. Both teams are 2-0 so far in conference play, tied atop the conference standings.
Watauga (12-1 overall, 2-0 in NWC) swept past South Caldwell on Sept. 11, 3-0 in Lentz Eggers Gym (25-13, 25-8, 25-13) and they did it while giving almost everyone on the varsity roster valuable court time.
“I am very, very proud of our team,” said junior outside hitter Ashlyn Smith when the last point and set had been secured. “Every set, every match, every practice… we get more and more united. We have fun but we get better. We work together to defeat a common (opponent).”
The Series: Hard diggin’!
Smith has proven invaluable as a Pioneer starter this year, exemplified by her performance vs. South Caldwell. She didn’t lead the team in any statistical category except in services aces, where she tied with sophomore libero Caroline Childers and junior defensive specialist Alaina Portaro for category best, with two. But Smith contributes smartly in almost every other statistical category, including kills, digs, and serve receives.
“South Caldwell has a number of athletes who play volleyball in the off-season, so we expected (a challenge),” said Pioneer head coach, Kim Pryor. “They are scrappy and they showed a lot of that in their passing game. It took us a minute to find our lanes with our hits but we got it going. Our players did a good job of mixing our sets and keeping the South Caldwell players guessing. That makes the defense move and makes hitting easier.”
Alexander Central (9-2 overall, 2-0 in NWC) has similarly enjoyed success in the early, non-conference portion of the 2025 season, including non-conference sweeps over Fred T. Foard and South Iredell before adding 3-0 sweeps most recently over the Cougars’ first two conference opponents, St. Stephens and McDowell. St. Stephens has been a strong conference opponent in the past and McDowell is the only larger, 7A classified school in the revamped Northwestern Conference, where all other schools, including Watauga, are 6A.
Volleyball fans won’t want to miss this Sept.16 showdown between the current league leaders.
INDIVIDUAL VARSITY STATISTICAL LEADERS
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- KILLS: Emma Pastusic (18), Kora Knight (10), Gracyn Phelps (6), Ashlyn Smith (6)
- ASSISTS: Lainey Gragg (41), Caroline Childers (2), Ava Zaragoza (2), Graycie Collins (2), Emma Pastusic (2) Ashlyn Smith (2)
- BLOCKS: Hannah Adams (1), Rae Coffey (1, Emma Pastusic (1)
- SERVICE ACES: Alaina Portero (2), Ashlyn Smith (2), Caroline Childers (2)
- POINTS WHILE SERVING: Ashlyn Smith (15), Caroline Childers (10), Alaina Portero (6), Lilli Combs (6)
- DIGS: Caroline Childers (19), Lilli Combs (14), Ashlyn Smith (11), Emma Pastusic (6)
- SERVE RECEIVES: Caroline Childers (21), Ashlyn Smith (9), Emma Pastusic (5)
BONUS PHOTOS (Click on any image for SLIDE SHOW MODE and larger images)
