Princeton advances to 1A east volleyball semifinals

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on October 25, 2013 1:48 PM

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rhanchett@newsargus.com

PRINCETON -- A pair of quality teams with a pair of standout players met on the volleyball court at Princeton on Thursday evening.

Savanna Massengill and her Bulldog teammates emerged victorious with a 25-19, 17-25, 25-12, 25-19 win over Chasante Jones and her Camden County squad in the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 1-A playoffs.

The Bulldogs (26-1 overall) entertain Perquimans on Saturday.

"I am really proud of the girls and how they responded to adversity tonight," Princeton head coach Paige Renfrow said. "They got a little mood about them after we dropped that second set and they decided that we were not going to lose this match."

Both teams started slowly and tried to feel each other out in the first set.

Back-to-back kills from Massengill followed by an ace by Charlie Cox pushed Princeton in front 14-12. The Bulldogs never trailed again en route to a 25-19 victory.

Camden County used a similar run in the second set when Jones delivered two kills around a block by Kayla Horacek that put the Bruins up 15-10. A pair of Princeton miscues put the set out of reach and squared the match at 1-all.

The Bulldogs responded with a vengeance in the third set.

Massengill and Tori Paul combined for four kills on the first five points as part of a 9-1 run. Camden County never closed within seven points in the lopsided 25-12 defeat.

Princeton trailed 8-7 in the final set when a pair of unforced Bruin errors turned the tide. Taylor Carroll delivered a timely kill and put the Bulldogs ahead for good 12-9. Kasey Edwards sealed the victory with back-to-back kills to end the match.

"Camden County is a very good team and they played hard," Renfrow said. "We made some defensive adjustments early that helped us and we were able to grind it out."

Jones paced the Bruins with 13 kills, three blocks and one ace. Brynn Fleury added seven kills and one ace.

Massengill led the Princeton attack with 18 kills, four blocks and one ace. Paul tallied 10 kills and one block. Edwards finished with five kills and two blocks for the Bulldogs.

"Savanna really stepped her game up against a great hitter (Jones)," Renfrow said. "(Massengill) made plays at big times for us and she really helped us stay on track in that third set."