09/05/18 — PREP VOLLEYBALL: Goldsboro shows fight against East Duplin

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PREP VOLLEYBALL: Goldsboro shows fight against East Duplin

By Aviel Smolka
Published in Sports on September 5, 2018 5:51 AM

By AVIEL SMOLKA

asmolka@newsargus.com

Goldsboro still has some work to do on the volleyball court.

One step at a time.

Reigning East Central 2-A champion East Duplin beat the Cougars 29-27, 25-16, 25-15 inside Norvell T. Lee Gym on Tuesday evening.

Haley Phillips had four aces, Marcy Taylor had seven kills, Hallie Brown had four blocks and Riley Howell had 25 assists in the loss.

"The first set was a great volleyball match on both sides. We showed the caliber of team we are" Goldsboro head coach TJ Lancaster said. "The second and third we lost our focus and got a little spastic."

The opening set saw multiple lead changes and both teams were looking to establish control of the game. Marcy Taylor had three aces and the Cougars jumped out to a 4-0 lead, which forced East Duplin head coach Elizabeth Howard to call a quick timeout.

East Duplin emerged from the timeout, chipped away at the deficit and took a 7-5 lead.

The Cougars fought back to tie the set at 24-24, but the Panthers regained control and won 29-27.

"The first set was very big," Howard said. "It was a big energy boost for us that helped us win set two and three. The first set give us momentum while taking away some momentum from a strong Goldsboro team."

The Cougars were up 4-2 in the second set before the Panthers roared in front 12-8. Lancaster called a timeout, but East Duplin remained hot and won 25-16.

East Duplin dominated early in the third set and turned back a Goldsboro rally. The Cougars closed to within 8-4, but the Panthers never lost control and completed the three-set sweep.

"We have always fought and we have to have all 11 girls on the same page," Lancaster said. "If they're not on the same page then we aren't going to get anything done.

"We got in our way and we've got to stop getting in our way. No matter what we're doing out there we have to make sure we're all there together."