Last Saturday, October 23, Avery High School hosted Bessemer City High School (BCHS) in the first round of the NCHSAA 1A state volleyball playoffs. Following a slow start, the Lady Vikings controlled the match at key times to win three straight sets and advance to take on Rosman in the second round of the state playoffs.
Because the cancellation of the Mitchell match earlier in the week prevented Senior Night activities from being held, Lady Viking seniors Cassie Bumgarner, Melinda Eggers, Jennie Elrod, and Megan Robbins were honored alongside their parents prior to the start of the match.
Once the match got underway, the 2-18 Bessemer City club played with precision belying their poor season record and snatched an early lead over Avery. Early in the first set, BCHS took a lead and forged ahead by three at 11-8.
Bessemer City used a 6-1 run to build a 17-9 lead and force Avery head coach Kim Hayes to take a time out to regroup her club. The tactic worked to perfection, as the Lady Vikings surrendered the first point after the stoppage, and reeled off nine of the next 12 points to cut the deficit to 21-18.
Avery seized control of the set behind the service of Savannah Dellinger, as the Lady Yellow Jackets had difficulty returning the jump serve and eventually lost both its lead and the set. The Big Red rolled with seven consecutive points to capture the first set by a 25-21 final score.
The consultation with the Lady Viking coaches recharged and refocused the home team, but BCHS continued to score to keep the score close. With the teams tied at 16, Avery used a 5-2 scoring run to build a 21-18 lead and forced a Bessemer timeout. The Big Red dominated the set after the break in the action, scoring the final four points in succession to take a 25-18 win and a 2-0 set lead in the best-three-out-of-five set match.
In the third and final set the Bessemer City club appeared addled as Avery began to impose its will on them. The Lady Vikings won seven of the first eight points of the set to build a comfortable margin. Bessemer then used a 7-3 scoring streak of its own to pull to within 10-8 and compel Avery to call timeout to slow the momentum and discuss strategy.
The pesky Lady Yellow Jackets continued to hang around following the break, keeping to within a couple of points of Avery midway through the set. With the score at 15-13 in favor of the Lady Vikings, a kill from Robbins began a change of momentum that swung in Avery’s favor for good.
The Lady Vikings gained the service and refused to give it up. Kills on the front line from Megan Tennant, as well as strong service points from Robbins helped the Lady Vikings to score the final ten points of the match, securing a 25-13 win and advancing Avery into the next round of the state playoffs.
“Once we got our offense going and getting our passes to Megan Tennant and Megan Robbins, we started snapping out of it. Those girls played a very strong middle game which brought us this win,” Hayes said after the match. “I’ll be totally honest. I was scared about this match because I’ve seen teams like Bessemer City frustrate and upset a team, so this was a big win for us. Bessemer played a different style defensively than what we’re used to, but the girls in the third game really started finding the holes and serving to their weaker players.”
Following the win, the coach shared the highest complements regarding her four senior players who had played their final volleyball match at Viking Gym.
“I’ve only been back for my third season with the seniors, but they are definitely strong leaders of the team,” Hayes said. “Cassie is our quarterback on the floor and Melinda is our libero who runs the show defensively. Megan Robbins is really our mouthpiece, so to speak. She’s the emotional spark and she really lightens the mood. Jennie was turning out to be a really strong hitter, but she suffered the stress fracture that has kept her out the entire season. She really shouldn’t be playing, but I had to let her play and get her in, playing some back row and serving. These are good hearted, sweet kids and you couldn’t ask for a better group to coach.”
With the victory, Avery improved to 10-11 for the season and advanced to play the Lady Tigers of Rosman on Tuesday, October 26 at Rosman High School. Rosman was the state 1A volleyball runner-up last season and defeated Lake Norman Charter in straight sets to improve to 23-1 for the season. During a preseason scrimmage, the Lady Vikings defeated Rosman.
“They are a hungry team for a state championship, but the good thing about our girls is that we saw Rosman in a scrimmage earlier this season,” Hayes said. “If we can upset them defensively, we may be able to control the game. Our middle players are going to have to have another good night, but the only way that can happen is if we’re passing the ball well.”
A full report on Avery’s second round match with Rosman can be found in next week’s print edition of The Avery Journal-Times, and online at the AJ-T Sports Blog by clicking at: http://www.ajtsports.blogspot.com/
