North Lenoir defeats Kinston in first game since Sept. 10
North Lenoir’s Reena Parris prepares for a serve during the Hawks’ victory over Kinston Monday at home. Photo by William “Bud” Hardy / Neuse News
LA GRANGE | It’s been a while since North Lenoir has seen the volleyball court, but the Hawks started their week strong.
North Lenoir defeated Kinston 25-11, 25-21, 25-3 Monday in the team’s first action since Sept. 10. The Hawks (10-2, 3-1 Eastern Carolina Conference) started slow, but finished with a flourish in winning their fourth straight, including the first of three consecutive games.
North Lenoir plays at Greene Central Tuesday before a matchup on the road against Ayden-Grifton Wednesday.
“It took us a while to get it (because) it’s been three weeks since we’ve played,” Hawks coach Heather Carson said. “We had to get back in sync, talking and moving, attacking the ball. Now we’ve got to take care of Greene Central, hopefully play well (Tuesday) and then hopefully we can play our game (against Ayden-Grifton).”
Hawks’ libero Kennedy Sullivan said the team needed time to get back into its ways, but were able to get the victory.
“We know what we need to do and had to build momentum,” Sullivan said. “We had to get into the right mindset and once we did that it was all uphill from there.”
Kinston (0-9, 0-5) played Greene Central on Sept. 27, the Vikings’ first action in 16 days. Although the team lost to the Rams in four sets, Kinston coach Stephanie Ybarra said the Vikings have been playing better as the season progressed, especially in the second set of Monday’s contest.
“I’ve seen a lot of persistence, a lot of heart and they’ve been putting it all out on the floor,” Ybarra said. “There’s been a lot of leadership and I think that comes from growing together from freshmen to juniors, which helped a lot. As a team, they’ve continued to grow and that’s played a big role toward what you’re seeing now.”
The Vikings also have a three-game week, on the road against West Craven Wednesday before traveling to Ayden-Grifton the following day.
The game was also a special one for North Lenoir as the team played in recognition for Pediatric Cancer with T-shirts for sale to raise money for awareness and a cure.
“September’s Pediatric Cancer Month and we were going to do that in (the month) but our games got moved back,” Carson said. “A couple years ago, my nephew was diagnosed with cancer and ever since then, I’ve done this game and the money we make off the T-shirts we sell goes to Riley’s Army.”
Shirts are still available at North Lenoir for $15.
