Jenna Brown of South Johnston goes up for a kill.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Despite falling behind 2-0, South Johnston’s varsity volleyball team continued to battle, but ultimately fell 3-1 to visiting Lee County on Thursday. Individual set scores were 25-22, 25-21, 19-25 and 25-22.
“We fought well the whole time,” said South Johnston coach Matthew Adams. “I had fun. I told the girls that I hoped they did. That was a high-level volleyball match. I thought both teams played better than they did the first time we played at Lee County (also a 3-1 win for Lee on Aug. 21). We rose to the challenge. We competed. I thought we did a lot of things well. I thought it was the most consistently we’ve played from beginning to end for an entire match. The three sets we lost we scored over 20 points. Then last night (a 3-1 loss at Garner) we lost a couple of sets 21-25, I think.
“So, we’ve struggled to close them out and score points in the 20s. A few of those things have been hitting errors, which is frustrating, because you kind of feel like you’re giving points to the other team down the stretch. The only thing I would say is that I wish we would have played a little better at the end of the sets, but for the most part we battled, we played hard, we were playing great defense, we were hustling to keep the ball alive, we were getting blocks, we did everything that you should do to get a win. Even though we didn’t get a win, it felt like a win because we played consistently well. I’m not upset about this at all. I feel like it’s a step in the right direction going toward conference next week.”
Junior LeeAnna Hines had 16 kills and four blocks, both match-high totals, to lead the Trojans (5-5).
Coach Adams was pleased with the back row play of freshman libero Kennedy Byrd, with 29 digs, and junior defensive specialist Callie Sutton, with 13 digs.
“I told them tonight over and over again, ‘Y’all are killing it on the back row. Y’all are playing great defense,’” coach Adams said. “They dug a lot of balls. Their setter (Mackenzie Hulsey) is tricky. She does a lot of things and is a great player. She sets her players well. She dinks over the net and pushes deep corners. We always have to be on our toes and I think our girls knowing that our back row was in it. They were engaged tonight. They were trying to anticipate and trying to read and call stuff early. For the most part, I thought they did a great job keeping the ball alive. Even if we didn’t get a perfect pass back to the setter, we were able to keep the ball alive and stay in the point. We won some points tonight because of that.”
Jenna Brown had six kills, seven digs and two aces on three service points. Savannah Hines had four kills, three blocks and five digs. Paige Toler had three kills, one block and five digs. Kandis Adams had three kills and 13 digs and held serve for one point. Katon Blackmon had two kills and seven digs and held serve for one point. Carlye Durham had two kills and three digs. Byrd had two kills and two aces on seven service points. Carmen Keene had 22 assists and eight digs and held serve for three points. Jessica Johnson had 14 assists, six digs and four aces on 12 service points. LeeAnna Hines had four digs and held serve for two points. Sutton had two aces on 14 service points.
A trio of seniors led the Yellow Jackets (5-2). Taylor Rosser had 12 kills and six aces on 17 service points, Elyria Hackney had eight kills and Mackenzie Hulsey had eight kills, 35 assists and two blocks.
The first set was close throughout. With Lee holding a 23-22 lead, a kill from Kamryn Bivens, assisted by Hulsey, and a Trojan error gave Lee the first set.
The second set was also close, with Lee closing out late. With Lee holding a 23-21 lead, a Hackney kill, assisted by Hulsey, and a Hulsey block gave Lee the 2-0 lead.
With the score tied 5-5 in the third set, South went on a 7-1 run to take the lead. Lee was able to cut the lead to as low as two, at 17-15, but South finished the set on a 10-2 run to extend the match.
South opened the fourth set with a 7-1 run to take the early lead, but later a 7-0 run, including five Rosser aces, put Lee in front. South battled back to tie the game at 19 and the teams exchanged points until, with the score tied at 22, Lee finished the match with a 3-0 run.
South Johnston took a 2-1 win in the junior varsity match.
Both teams begin conference play at home Tuesday. Lee County hosts Tri-County Six 3-A Conference foe Harnett Central (2-5) and South Johnston hosts Greater Neuse 3-A and Johnston County rival Clayton (4-4).
“If we play like we played tonight, I’m happy,” coach Adams said. “I mean, I love to win games. I don’t like to lose. But we’ve got Clayton and West (Johnston away Thursday). They’re both good programs and finished above us in the conference last year. I think we’re built to be more competitive this year, for sure. But really our focus this year has to be that we’re mentally tough down the stretch. Can we win the big points when the pressure’s on at the end of the game? I think that will be the biggest thing to think about in building on as we go into conference.”
Savannah Hines (left) makes a block for the Trojans on Thursday.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
LeeAnna Hines puts away a point for South Johnston.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Katon Blackmon of the Trojans goes up for a kill.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
South Johnston’s Callie Sutton dives for a dig.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
