VOLLEYBALL: Eastern Wayne spikes Clinton

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on October 5, 2016 9:57 AM

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By BEN COLEY

bcoley@newsargus.com

Last year's Eastern Wayne volleyball team managed only six wins and struggled through 14 losses.

Eleven of those 14 defeats were lost in straight sets, including a match against Clinton.

But the 2016 edition of the Warriors has a different vibe. And Monday's nonconference match against the Dark Horses ended with a different result.

EW defeated Clinton 25-20, 21-25, 25-20, 25-22 to win its 13th game of the season. It's the most wins in a season since 2007, when the Warriors finished 21-2.

Warriors' head coach Anna Hajjar pointed to consistency as a reason for the team's significant rise in play from 2015.

"Our seniors have had three coaches," Hajjar said. "Just knowing that they have consistency in their practices, because I helped out last year. I didn't really do much, but I helped out."

EW began the match by controlling the tempo of the first set. Clinton tied the set just twice, and never held the lead.

The issues for the Warriors began in the second set. EW led 16-14 midway through, but Clinton used an 11-5 run to win the set and tie the match at one-all.

The last point of the set was an overpass by the Dark Horses that fell just inside the out-of-bounds line. Several EW players surrounded the ball as it dropped, but no play was made.

"It was a lack of communication, with a combination of the other team wanting it more," said Hajjar, regarding the struggles in the second set.

In the third set, the Warriors proved they wanted it just as much, and began to play like a team with double digits in the win column.

EW quickly jumped to a 7-1 lead. Clinton did close the gap to 17-14, but four straight service aces by EW's Alana Kazar pushed the lead to 21-14, which proved to be an insurmountable deficit.

The Dark Horses did hold a 9-3 lead in the fourth set. But thanks in part to six kills by Warriors' middle hitter Alyssa Jackson, EW clawed its way back into the set, and sealed the match.

"They knew where our holes were," said Clinton head coach Jennifer Edgerton. "Emily (Newsome) and Jennifer (Sparks) can find that hole. And they can serve anywhere and place it in any place. They can serve it short, and then they'll serve it deep the next time."

Jackson led EW with 12 kills. Newsome registered seven kills and Sparks dug 13 balls.

Around this time last season, the Warriors were in the midst of a four-game losing streak.

A year and two days later, EW has won four games in a row, with the previous three victories coming against conference opponents. The team won just two conference games in 2015.

Among those three conference victories was a five-set win against county rival C.B. Aycock.

Hajjar specifically pointed to that match as an example of the level of play she needs from her team for the rest of the season.

 "I hate comparing everyone to them, but we have to play like we did against Aycock," Hajjar said. "Just because of that rivalry, doesn't mean that we only play well and hard against them. We have to do that with everyone."