Aycock capitalizes on serves, E. Wayne errors

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on September 15, 2010 1:47 PM

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Serving and unforced errors.

Those two statistics summed up the first of two regular-season meetings between county volleyball rivals Charles B. Aycock and Eastern Wayne on Tuesday afternoon.

The Golden Falcons limited their mistakes after an opening-set loss, turned up their serving intensity and pulled out a 17-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-10 victory. The Warriors yielded 11/2 sets on 40 unforced errors, including 19 at the service line.

"Serving is so important," said Eastern Wayne head coach Tony Parrish. "The first game, we got them in and the second game, we didn't. The third game, we went through the rotation 11/2 times and made six errors out of that.

"We gave Aycock (points), not taking anything away from Aycock because they took it to us after that. We go as our serves go."

C.B. Aycock recorded 19 aces in the four-set affair. Connor Davis served a match-high six aces, while Bailee Hughes and Reagan Herndon picked up four and three aces, respectively.

Rachel Jordan distributed a match-high 29 assists among five hitters. Middle hitter Madison Mercer pounded out a match-high 11 kills for the Golden Falcons, who improved to 5-4 overall and 2-2 against ECC opposition this season. Davis and Brooke Bell added nine and five kills, respectively.

Morgan Smith collected team highs in aces (six) and kills (four) for Eastern Wayne. Lura Hulse served three aces, while Carissa Turner banged out three kills. The Warriors dropped to 3-8 overall and 1-2 in the league.

"We had the momentum in the first game, they got it and we just never got it back," said Parrish.

Tied at 9-9 in the opening set, Eastern Wayne used a 13-5 run to seize control. Allyson Newsome ignited the surge with back-to-back aces, while Turner and Jasmine Benjamin each cranked out a kill.

Aycock committed 13 unforced errors during the set.

"Eastern Wayne came out firing some serves and we went back to not passing the ball, so we don't attack," said Golden Falcons head coach Davis Harris.

Davis, an outside hitter, supplied three kills to spark Aycock's 11-3 run to start the second set. The Golden Falcons built a 20-9 advantage, only to see the Warriors climb within 23-19 on Smith's ace. Mercer capped the set with a kill off Jordan's assist.

"I was glad that we were able to regroup," said Harris. "We came out more focused (after the first set) and passed the ball better. We're not a bad attacking team. We've got some weapons of our own and our serves were much better."

Herndon served three consecutive aces during a 10-2 run for Aycock in the third set. Eastern Wayne got within 14-10, but couldn't close the gap. Mercer, again, ended the set with a kill off Jordan's assist and gave the Golden Falcons a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-five contest.

An unforced error and Davis' ace broke a 3-3 tie in the decisive fourth set. Davis' ace spearheaded a 6-0 run that included kills from Mercer and Bell. The Warriors never recovered.

"That first game, Davis might have thought they played bad, but I thought we played the best we had all year," said Parrish. "Then all of a sudden, it just went away that fast. It started with our serve."