Southern Wayne deals Aycock a three-set loss
By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on September 30, 2009 1:47 PM
DUDLEY -- There's no time like the present for Southern Wayne.
After dropping their first nine matches of the season, the Saints recorded their second consecutive win with a 25-11, 25-12, 30-28 victory over Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference rival Charles B. Aycock on Tuesday evening.
Southern Wayne took advantage of a Golden Falcons squad lacking life early on and Charity Wright's kill gave the Saints a 14-6 advantage in the first set.
Taylor Hood pounded out a pair of kills and combined with Wright on a block. Stephanie Bellefeuille added a service ace as Southern Wayne (2-9 overall, 2-3 ECC) closed out the opening set.
Aycock struggled with unforced errors in set two. Sophomore Madison Davis provided three kills and Hood chipped in an ace as the Saints jumped ahead 11-3. Davis and Courtney Holland both finished with seven kills. Hood tallied 11 blocks.
The Golden Falcons committed 17 errors in the second set.
"We just came out flat," said Aycock head coach Davis Harris. "They were ready, we weren't. I take the blame for it. I've tried to warn them that this is a dangerous place to come out flat.
"We've come out flat the last three or four years we've come over here. I thought maybe it would be different today."
The Golden Falcons (2-9, 1-4) appeared to be rejuvenated in the third set. Kills from Tia Jackson and Beth Carter, along with an ace from Cassidy Anderson, helped Aycock seize an 8-3 cushion.
Brittany Jackson's kill pushed the Golden Falcons' advantage to 16-10. However, Southern Wayne used four straight Aycock errors to climb within 16-14.
Back-to-back kills from Holland evened the score at 17-17 and the lead changed hands eight more times before the conclusion of the set. The Golden Falcons fought off five match points but Bellefeuille's kill, and Wright and Hood's block allowed the Saints to complete the three-set sweep.
"We were getting tired but we kept playing," said Southern Wayne head coach Eric Durol. "We only have nine players. They just stuck it out. They just refused to give up."
Persevering through nine consecutive losses and now seeing the fruits of their labor with back-to-back wins, the Saints are starting to grow in confidence.
"You can hear the girls talking out there," said Durol. "The communication has been a big thing and we've finally found that. These last two matches their confidence is really high."
Southern Wayne visits Triton on Thursday, while Aycock plays host to North Lenoir.