APA advances to NCISAA volleyball semifinals

By Junious Smith III

Arendell Parrott Academy has been here before and played that way Saturday.

The Patriots defeated Asheville Christian 25-18, 25-19, 25-10 in the NCISAA quarterfinals. The defending state champions defeated the Lions (16-12) in the semifinals last year after falling to them in the championship round.

APA (19-3) will host its NCISAA semifinals Tuesday with a chance to play at North Raleigh Christian Oct. 26 for the championship game.

"Our first year or two, we struggled to win our conference, so when we got to the playoffs, we didn't know what to expect and played not to lose," Patriots coach David Barnes said. "Now, over the last three years we've come out and played even harder in the playoffs because we know what to expect. These girls expect to play deep in the playoffs and believe they can repeat."

In the first set, the teams played it close before a 5-0 run from APA, highlighted by an Alli Grant Avery kill and Virginia Edmondson service ace, made the score 14-7. From there, the Lions wouldn't get within five as Avery's kill ended the set.

In the second set, the teams split the first 12 points before a 5-1 Parrott run, including two blocks from Mackenzie Pope, gave the team necessary separation. Asheville Christian did stave off four straight set points, including two Riley Shuman aces and an Avery Jackson block, but another kill from Alli Grant Avery finished it off.

In the third set, two kills from Avery and a Johnna Tyndall block sparked the Patriots to a 6-2 lead they would never relinquish. Kaylee Gilkeyson's kill ended the run, but Pope's subsequent kill sparked a 5-1 streak. Asheville Christian wouldn't get within six for the remainder of the match.

"We got here early this morning and ate breakfast as a team," Avery said. "Our energy and focus was high, so when we got here we were ready to roll."