South Lenoir survives North Lenoir comeback, wins in four sets
South Lenoir's Alyssa Kopanski (7) looks to set up a teammate as Sara Beth Stroud gets prepared in Thursday's contest against North Lenoir. Photo by William ‘Bud’ Hardy / Neuse News
By Junious Smith III
Rivalry games are usually tough and Thursday was no exception.
South Lenoir was able to snap a two-game losing streak to North Lenoir on the road with a 25-22, 25-17, 23-25, 28-26 victory. The Blue Devils (10-2, 5-1 ECC) knew they would be in a battle from the start according to Coach Lisa Smith and it showed on the court.
"It's always intense against North Lenoir and I'm very proud of the girls," Smith said. "We played well with this being our first game of the week, and they never stopped fighting for each other."
South Lenoir scored the game's first three points, highlighted by a Mallory Dawson kill. Consecutive aces from Lyndsay Williams helped the Blue Devils open up a 5-point lead, but North Lenoir (8-6, 3-3) kept fighting, eventually getting within 23-22 as Reena Parris' five kills helped pace the Hawks' attack. Ultimately, the Blue Devils prevailed, never trailing in the set.
In the second set, consecutive aces from Kennedy Sullivan helped North Lenoir jump out to a 3-1 lead. South Lenoir fought back, then took control with a 4-0 run, punctuated by two Dawson aces, to go up 10-6. A Parris kill and Jackie Avila ace brought the Hawks within two, but the team wouldn't get closer as the Blue Devils took the two-set advantage.
The third set was the closest with 14 ties and seven lead changes. South Lenoir stormed out to an 11-6 lead, but North Lenoir used a 7-1 run to take the lead. The Blue Devils went on another spurt led by two aces from Mary Grace Beyer to go up 17-14, but Clara Boyette's ace punctuated a 6-1 Hawks' streak. The teams were tied at 23, but Katelyn Daughety's hit, followed by a Paytyn Jones kill gave North Lenoir the set.
Beyer's ace was part of a 5-2 start in the fourth set for South Lenoir, and although North Lenoir tied it at 8, the Blue Devils followed with a 6-1 spurt. A kill from Sara Beth Stroud gave the Blue Devils a match point at 24-21, but the Hawks staved off three of them to tie the game. The Blue Devils got the next point, but kills from Parris and Jones gave North Lenoir a chance to send the game into a fifth set.
From there, South Lenoir tied it at 26, Williams followed with an ace and Dawson ended the match with a kill.
"I just wanted to make sure the ball didn't hit the floor," Dawson said. "I wouldn't have opposed to passing it to a teammate, but I saw an opening and went with it."
North Lenoir coach Heather Carson said she appreciated the team's efforts.
"They could've easily given up, but they continued to fight," Carson said. "Of course, we're never happy with a loss, but we played well."
Beyer led South Lenoir with 15 kills, Dawson added 10 and Jessica Harris had 23 assists. For North Lenoir, Parris had 16 kills, Jones added 10, Avila provided 31 assists and Sullivan had 10 digs.
