Saints give Warriors unexpected test in ECC 3A-4A volleyball

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on September 23, 2015 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

The buzz among Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference volleyball coaches has been about Southern Wayne's improvement on the court this season.

Eastern Wayne certainly took notice -- and felt fortunate to escape with a 25-22, 27-25, 25-16 victory Tuesday evening.

"They were scrappy, never gave up, fought for the ball ... didn't matter where the ball went on the court, they were on it to get it. I think they did very well," second-year Warriors head coach Jackie Lewis said. "I don't think my girls were expecting it ... think they really thought this was going to be an easy win. They saw pretty quickly that it was not."

Indeed.

Southern Wayne executed in its offensive system behind middle hitter Macayla Tyndall (eight kills), Katelyn Williams (seven kills) and setter Nicole Allen (13 assists). The Saints held a seven-point lead in the opening set, a nine-point lead in set two and clawed their way to a 16-16 tie in the third set.

The visitors could never finish, however.

With senior Chelsea Wynn at the service line, the Warriors capped the first set with a 10-0 run. Wynn served two aces and fellow senior Genevieve Bernard delivered two kills off of assists from senior setter Britni McAlduff.

In the second set, Eastern Wayne (5-7 overall, 1-4 ECC) worked from an 18-9 deficit to a 19-19 tie behind senior middle hitter Naheria Hamilton and the back row play of junior libero Kailey Peedin-Rouse and Daysia Whitley.

Peedin-Rouse and Whitley kept several balls in play, which helped get Hamilton involved in an offense that never developed a consistent rhythm. Hamilton cranked out three kills and gave the Warriors their first lead, 20-19, on a solo block.

The teams traded ties at 22-22, 24-24 and 25-25 before a Saints passing error and Hamilton's kill sealed the second set.

"(Falling behind) is kind of unnecessary, too," EW senior setter Emily Newsome said. "I think we have enough skill to be above a team like this. Not all teams, but we have a habit of digging a hole and then making ourselves come back instead of when we could start strong and stay ahead the whole time.

"They were more competition than we thought."

A dropped pass allowed Southern Wayne (1-11, 0-6) to tie the third set at 16-16. Hamilton earned the sideout with a kill off Newsome's 13th assist of the match, and that ignited a set-ending 9-0 run.

Hamilton posted match highs in kills (9) and blocks (3). Wynn finished with four kills, one solo block and a team-leading five aces. Newsome dished out 15 assists.

Tyndall collected two solo blocks. Amber Pfenning and Katelyn Williams served four aces apiece. The Saints had 19 kills as a team.

First-year SW head coach Sarah Robinson applauded her team's performance and its ability to transition from offense to defense. She cited the play of Tyndall in the middle and Allen, who worked to control several off-center passes from the back row.

"I can't ask for a better group of girls," said Robinson, a graduate of University of Mount Olive. "They come hard to practice every day. They come hard to games every day. I'm trying to find that athlete in them, trying to find that fire that burns that they can use to finish the game."