NCHSAA 1A state volleyball finals: Alleghany topples Princeton in 4 sets

By Brandon Davis
Published in Sports on November 7, 2015 11:16 PM

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bdavis@newsargus.com

RALEIGH -- Princeton seniors Hailey Wood and Taylor Carroll sat beside teammate, junior Daisy Eklund, and head volleyball coach Paige Renfrow.

Each used their hands to wipe away tears despite a remarkable season that ended in disappointing fashion Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs fell to Alleghany 20-25, 21-25, 25-19, 20-25 in the 2015 N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 1-A state championship game.

Wood looked back on her team's season.

"I think it's very important for a team to be more than a team," she said. "This year, we had some controversy, but we came together. We're more like sisters. We might fight like sisters, but it's just that family bond. That's something I will always cherish."

Eklund, who recorded 28 kills in the game, has one more year with the Bulldogs. But she will never forget this year's road to the championship game.

"Playing as a team is the most important thing," she said. "You can have the most confident players in the world, but if you don't play as a team, you're not going to get anywhere."

The Bulldogs have played as a team all season and reached a fourth set in just three matches. They fell behind 2-0 against the Trojans.

Eklund entered the third set and never looked frustrated. The West Virginia transfer had eight kills, three blocks and one dig. Wood recorded five kills, and junior Kortney Edwards had three digs.

Princeton ended the third set with a kill from Eklund and kept the Bulldogs' chances of repeating as state champions alive.

Trojans senior Jade Shepherd had 15 kills in the game and was the main force behind Alleghany's fourth-set win. She was named the Most Valuable Player.

"Alleghany's a good team," Renfrow said. "They've got strong blockers. They have good hitters that have good defense. We put up good offense as well as good defense.

"Overall, I'm proud of our team. They pushed as hard as they could push. They fought for that third set and fought hard for that fourth set as well."

Carroll had 10 kills, two blocks and three digs. Senior Kelsey Peedin had two kills, four digs and one ace. Wood ended the game with nine kills, three blocks and one ace.

"The girls have given me everything they have since August first, the years before," Renfrow said. "This senior group is something special, and I just told them that not many senior teams can take away four years to the east regional championship, two chances back-to-back to get to the state championship (and) one state title. There's not a lot in the state that can say that they have those types of titles under their belts.

"They have a lot to be proud of."