Wayne Christian stops Epiphany

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on October 26, 2011 1:48 PM

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Wayne Christian survived a third-set hiccup and finished off The Epiphany School 25-17, 25-4, 21-25, 25-16 in the opening round of the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A state volleyball playoffs on Tuesday night.

The Eagles (18-6 overall) face third-seeded Cresset Christian in quarterfinal-round play Friday at Trinity of Durham-Chapel Hill.

"I was really pleased with the effort and the style of play today," Wayne Christian head coach Rick Moore said. "We kept our focus when things were going well for us and we didn't get too ragged when things were going the other team's way."

Early in the match, everything seemed to be going the Eagles way.

Two kills and two blocks by Jessica Swets pushed Wayne Christian out to a 10-6 lead in the first set. Consecutive kills by Katie Caviness and a service ace by Katie Isenhower essentially put the set out of reach.

Wayne Christian was even more dominant in the second set as they raced out to a 15-0 lead on the strength of four kills by Brittany O'Hara and two from Swets. The Eagles cruised to the set win as the Falcons tried to regroup.

"Haley Greenwood did a nice job with her serve during that run," Moore said. "She was able to keep the ball short and (Epiphany) had trouble adjusting their coverage."

The Falcons turned the tides on their hosts in the third set. Megan Cowan came alive at the net as Epiphany controlled the pace of play. Cowan tallied four kills and two blocks in the set and lead her team to a 25-21 triumph.

Undaunted, Wayne Christian answered with a much improved fourth set as O'Hara regained her touch from the outside hitter position. O'Hara recorded five kills in the set and sent the Eagles into the second round of the postseason.

"Volleyball is a game where good teams go on runs," Moore said. "We had a good run in the second set, they came back in the third and we were able to put it away in the fourth because we kept our composure and stole back the momentum."

O'Hara paced the Eagles with 14 kills. Swets added 10 kills and four blocks, while Caviness added seven kills and three blocks. Isenhower dished out 24 assists.