Saints notch first victory
By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on September 25, 2009 1:47 PM
Southern Wayne didn't let this one slip away.
The Saints shook off a third-set loss and rebounded for a 25-20, 27-25, 20-25, 25-12 victory over Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference volleyball rival Eastern Wayne on Thursday evening.
Southern Wayne trailed 18-14 in the first set before Charity Wright's kill, Qulanda Mathis' service ace and a pair of Warriors errors created an 18-18 tie.
The Saints used six kills and Wright's ace to close out the opening set.
Set two was a see-saw affair. Eastern Wayne fought off two set points, but couldn't close the deal. Madison Davis' kill tied the set at 25-25 and Stephani Rockwell's ace gave the visitors a 26-25 advantage.
Wright's kill finished off set two.
The Saints controlled the majority of the play around the net and finished with 30 kills. Davis contributed 12 kills and Wright added eight. Taylor Hood and Courtney Holland each chipped in four blocks.
"The blocking was there and being active at the net was there," said Southern Wayne head coach Eric Durol. "They were just really hungry."
The Warriors erased a 15-10 deficit in the third set as the Saints seemed to lose their rhythm. Wright's kill temporarily gave Southern Wayne a 20-15 cushion before Eastern Wayne rattled off 10 consecutive points to claim the third set.
"We got really tight in that third set because they wanted to win so bad," said Durol. "Taylor Hood pretty much got mad because she was starting to hyperventilate. We all had a talk and she pretty much said, 'we've got to win this one.'
"She was pretty much the driving factor in that fourth set."
The Saints (1-9 overall, 1-3 ECC) jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the fourth set as the Warriors struggled with errors while Hood pounded out two kills. Eastern Wayne got no closer and left head coach Tony Parrish questioning his team's ability to play as a cohesive unit.
"We won the third set and then Southern Wayne came right out and seized the momentum back," said Parrish. "They just outplayed us today like they wanted it more than we did. We've got to learn to play as a team. Right now we're not doing that."
The Warriors (3-12, 0-4) entertain Kinston on Monday while Southern Wayne plays host to C.B. Aycock on Tuesday.