Princeton downs Lakewood for title in 20th consecutive volleyball sweep

Princeton did what it does best Wednesday night to win the Carolina 1A Conference volleyball tournament championship: reel off points and wins.

The Bulldogs, the 2014 1A state champions, downed Lakewood in straight sets — 25-13, 25-13, 25-12 — to take the title. It was Princeton’s 20th straight sweep of the season. The Bulldogs haven’t dropped a set since August.

A year after a tough five-set loss to Lakewood in the conference tournament finals set the stage for Princeton’s dramatic five-set win over the Leopards in the eastern regional championship match, the Bulldogs (21-1) started to flash some of the defensive prowess that set up their title run last year.

Multiple times in the second and third sets, which were more competitive than the opening encounter, Princeton kept balls alive defensively until the Leopards made a mistake or the Bulldogs had a winning hit.

“That seems to work for us,” said Princeton coach Paige Renfrow of the defensive play. “When we’re getting down on the floor like that to keep balls in play, we’re at our best.”

Turning Point

Lakewood (14-10) led most of the first half of the second set before the Bulldogs took advantage of a long service run by senior Taylor Carroll to take control of the set and the match. Junior standout Daisey Eklund had six kills in the set.

Princeton outscored Lakewood 16-2 after Carroll went on serve.

Three Who Mattered

Daisey Eklund, Princeton: She showed why she’s one of the most feared hitters in the area with 13 kills in three sets and three service aces.

Taylor Carroll, Princeton: In addition to her big serve run in the second set, she had back-to-back aces on a service run in the third set, starting another big scoring run as Princeton scored 15 of the last 18 points of the set. Carroll also had seven kills.

Morgan Bonner, Lakewood: What offense the Leopards were able to produce came from the right arm of Bonner.

They Said It

“Daisey has some swings that even we wouldn’t be able to return tonight,” Renfrow said. “And Lakewood had some great swings as well. That’s going to happen. The other team’s going to make great plays as well, you just have to play through it when something doesn’t go your way.”

By the Numbers

10: Consecutive service points from Carroll during her momentum-shifting service run in the second set.

3: Number of jump servers in the Princeton lineup (Carroll, Eklund and Kelsey Peedin), a rarity for a 1A squad.

371: Days since Princeton has lost to a 1A opponent. The Bulldogs’ only loss this year was to 3A South Johnston back on Aug. 20.

4: Playoff matches won on the road by Princeton last season on the way to the state title. The Bulldogs should be one of the top seeds and play at home for a while in this year’s playoffs, which begin Saturday.

This story was originally published October 21, 2015 at 9:20 PM with the headline "Princeton downs Lakewood for title in 20th consecutive volleyball sweep."