VOLLEYBALL: Warriors, Golden Falcons stage epic classic

By Ben Coley
Published in Sports on September 23, 2016 9:59 AM

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bcoley@newsargus.com

In the waning moments of the fifth set, Charles B. Aycock eagerly awaited the serve from Eastern Wayne.

The ball was dug in the direction of the Golden Falcons' Arlanda Faulkner. The junior attempted a soft tip -- a move she had used all night -- but the ball collided with the net and harmlessly fell to the court.

The crowd erupted, and chants of "E-dub" echoed throughout the gym.

Faulkner's error helped Eastern Wayne finish off a 25-19, 13-25, 20-25, 25-19, 15-9 five-set thriller over C.B. Aycock in Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference play Tuesday night.

This was the first five-set match for EW (11-4 overall, 2-4 ECC) this season. Prior to the beginning of the final set, Warriors' head coach Anna Hajjar did not mince words.

"'Do you want it? Because this is the game that counts'," Hajjar told her team before the fifth set. "We do not lose at our house, especially against this team. There's just too much history. It's nothing personal, but it's always been Aycock.

"And to them, it's always been Eastern Wayne."

The beginning of the match belonged to the Warriors. After clinging to an 11-10 edge, EW went on a 10-3 run to extend its lead to 21-13. CBA could get no closer than within five after that point.

EW's Alyssa Jackson slammed six kills in the opening set while CBA's Faulkner had three.

In a stark reversal, the Golden Falcons dominated the second set. The score was tied at six, but CBA went on a 21-7 run to tie the match at one-all. The Golden Falcons' Cyerra Carter and Tanika Powell each had two kills in the set.

And after being down 19-15 in the third set, CBA used another huge 10-1 run to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

"We do well in a certain rotation, and we fight to stay in that rotation," Hajjar said. "We struggled with serve receive -- that was it. (The players) have to learn that we can't save them. They have to push through it."

In the remaining two sets of the match, the Warriors proved they can push through the adversity. CBA only held the lead twice in the fourth set, and EW had a lead as large as eight. The Warriors' Emily Newsome notched two kills and two service aces in the set.

The fifth set witnessed the most back-and-forth action between the two teams -- there were five ties early in the set. But once EW moved ahead 7-6, the lead never exchanged hands again.

"I think overall, we just kind of have some mental breakdowns," said CBA head coach Tangela Faulkner. "I wouldn't say we played our best at all. I think we just had some mental errors at the wrong time."

It was EW's second consecutive victory, with the other win coming against 3-A conference opponent Southern Wayne.

Hajjar acknowledged the importance of the victory, but the first-year coach hopes her team does not fall into a false sense of security like they've done earlier in the season.

"They know from past teams that they're not going to win again unless they not only give it their all, but just beyond that," Hajjar said. "But they can do it."