Sinai Avalos-Beltran makes a kill for Central on Wednesday.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Terry Sanford won a 3-0 All American 3-A/4-A Conference varsity volleyball match at Harnett Central on Wednesday, giving the Trojans their first loss in conference play and pulling into a tie for first place in the league standings with Central. Individual set scores were 25-22, 27-25 and 25-17.
“I told them multiple times in the huddle and after the game that tonight I didn’t think we were ready to compete like the true competitors that I think all 13 of these girls are,” said Harnett Central coach Ashley Gaines. “They’re competitive in every aspect of their life. Most of them are multiple sport athletes. And tonight, we just didn’t compete when it comes down to it. We weren’t ready for the fight that Terry Sanford was going to put up and we got scared and we weren’t competitors, when it’s all said and done.”
Senior Ivanna Jones had eight kills, junior Lily Gervase had seven kills and three blocks, junior Carlie Love had 12 assists and senior Carlee Harrell had a double-double, with 10 assists and 14 digs, to lead the Trojans (11-7, 10-1 AAC).
Sinai Avalos-Beltran had six kills, one block, 10 digs and two aces on six service points. Harrell had three kills and held serve for two points. Love had two kills, four digs and three aces on six service points. Mikaela Goss had three assists, 13 digs and one ace on six service points. Jones had one assist, nine digs and one ace on four service points. KeKe Snead had two digs. Ashley Bliven had one dig. Cayleigh Hughes had one ace on two service points. Gervase held serve for one point.
A trio of seniors led the Bulldogs (10-5, 9-1). Maggie Barnes had 11 kills and four aces on 10 service points, Maggy Watson had nine kills and two blocks and Kaylee Akers had 16 assists.
Terry Sanford took an early 13-4 lead in the first set before Central rallied with a 12-3 run to take the lead. But later in the set, with the score tied 22-22, the Bulldogs ended the set with three unanswered points.
Central held set point at 24-19, in the second set. But Terry Sanford rallied with an 8-1 run to take the set.
The score was close early in the third set, but with Terry Sanford leading 12-10, the Bulldogs pulled away with an 8-2 run and held on to take the match.
“We started out really well in the first set and the second set,” Gaines said. “But it’s like we do a couple of things really bad and those really bad things change our energy level and our entire momentum. It’s just a switch for them and it’s really hard for them to turn back on.”
Harnett Central won the junior varsity match 2-1 by scores of 25-15, 19-25 and 15-7.
Harnett Central has a quick turnaround, hosting conference and Harnett County rival Overhills (3-8, 3-7) on Thursday.
“I told them, ‘Done. Over with,’” Gaines said. “‘It’s a loss. Done. Over with. We’re not dwelling on it anymore.’ We’re getting ready for another conference game tomorrow and we’re not going to let this loss snowball effect into three more losses to end the season. We like where we’re sitting still, in first place, even though it’s tied. We’re going to keep building on top of that and look for a clean slate from here and through the conference tournament.”
Carlie Love (5) sets for Lily Gervase (14) against Terry Sanford.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Ivanna Jones goes up for a kill for Harnett Central.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Cayleigh Hughes of Harnett Central serves an ace,
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Mikaela Goss gets a dig on Wednesday in Central’s 3-0 setback.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Victoria Langdon gets a kill in Central’s junior varsity win.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
