Falcons soar

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on October 10, 2008 1:46 PM

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PIKEVILLE -- Southern Wayne couldn't settle its debt.

Charles B. Aycock finally finished the job.

Outside hitters Brittany Jackson and Beth Carter notched nine kills apiece as the Golden Falcons celebrated senior night with a 26-28, 25-18, 25-21, 25-10 decision over the Saints. It was the Class 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference regular-season finale for both teams.

"We put them away and that's something we haven't done all year ... not in that fashion, anyway," said Aycock head coach Davis Harris.

C.B. Aycock closed out the fourth set with a 10-0 run, capped by Carter's kill off Jackson's assist. The playoff-bound Golden Falcons (8-7 overall, 6-4 ECC) grabbed the No. 3 seed for next week's conference tournament, which begins Monday.

Southern Wayne (3-13, 3-7) tried to shake the memory of last year's loss to Aycock on its homecourt on senior night. The Saints wanted payback after the Golden Falcons decorated their gym with silly string.

"The girls were thinking about last year," said Saints coach Eric Durol. "The talking from the stands, at the net ... it got to them. Volleyball is as much a mental game as it is a physical game.

"If you let them get in your head, this is what happens."

The teams battled through 13 ties and three lead changes in the opening set. Southern Wayne middle hitter Clarice Sherard had four kills and two blocks, while teammate Shanica Kelly contributed two kills during that stretch.

Neither hitter factored into the overall outcome, however.

The Saints' passing game sputtered after the opening set and the Golden Falcons turned up their intensity. Aycock battled from three-point deficits in the early stages of the second and third set, but managed to convert the critical points and emerge victorious.

Carter's off-speed kill off Rachel Jordan's assist gave the Golden Falcons set point at 24-16 in the second set. The Saints got the sideout on Kelly's solo block against Jackson and climbed within 24-18. Cara Frederick finished off the set with a kill off Jordan's assist.

Camille Williams' kill off Jordan's assist gave the Golden Falcons their biggest lead, 23-17, in the third set. The Saints fended off three set points before a four-hit violation gave Aycock a 2-1 edge in the best-of-five match.

Unforced errors and bad serving haunted Southern Wayne in the decisive fourth set. The Golden Falcons capitalized off the mistakes and got strong net play from Carter, Jackson, Williams (match-high 11 kills) and Torie Benton.

Benton concluded the day with 11 assists, five aces, five kills and two blocks. Jordan handed out 15 assists.

Aycock's match-clinching, 10-0 surge gave them their 15th regular-season victory over Southern Wayne since 2001. The Golden Falcons lead the series 15-2, which includes a conference tournament loss.

"I'm proud of this group. They've worked hard," said Harris. "We've made this into four seasons -- non-conference, conference, conference tournament and state playoffs.

"The non-conference didn't go as well, but I could see improvement. We turned the conference season around and now it's on to the conference tournament. Anything can happen."