Corinth Holders volleyball stopped by Southwestern Randolph in second round
She doesn’t get over this way much, but Southwestern Randolph volleyball coach Darby Kennedy can’t help but wonder if she will be welcomed during her next visit to Johnston County.
Kennedy and her Cougars are now 2-0 in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3A playoffs against Johnston County foes, including Tuesday’s 23-25, 26-24, 25-17 and 25-14 decision at Corinth Holders in second-round action.
Last Saturday, Southwestern (23-4) defeated South Johnston in the opening round, and the Cougars continued their Two Rivers 3A Conference dominance against the Pirates,who closed at 14-10.
Kennedy’s club dropped the first set but began to excel midway through the second set, thanks in part to some strategy tweaks that Kennedy employed after Corinth Holders’ early success.
“We are generally a slow-starting team anyway,” Kennedy said. “We had to switch some things around because (the Pirates) have some good hitters, and they are strong defensively. The changes we made paid off and gave us some confidence.”
It was a difficult way to end the campaign for Corinth Holders, which overcame a five-match losing streak at one point this fall en route to claiming the Two Rivers regular season crown. Since the school opened in 2010, Corinth Holders has won two league regular season league titles and one tournament championship. The Pirates have gotten past the first round of the playoffs three out of six years.
“We had a good season,” said Corinth Holders coach Charles Riley – the only spike skipper the school has known. “We upgraded our non-conference schedule with teams like Greenville Rose, Wilson Hunt, N.C. School of Science and Math and Voyager Academy. We lost to some of those teams, but it was good to put the girls in pressure situations like that. It helped us be able to win the conference.”
Turning point
With the score tied at one set apiece, Southwestern finished the third set with a 10-2 spurt that was closed out by four service points from Anika Thomas. Anna Cross delivered two kills during the stretch, and Thomas came through with a pair of aces.
“We made a few errors and started to panic a little bit,” Riley said. “(The Cougars) started to put more pressure on us with their offense. They were getting balls up on defense and getting them to their hitters. We had some miscommunication at times. You hate to see that happen.”
Three who mattered
Anna Cross, Southwestern Randolph: With Corinth Holders intent on stopping Cougars’ standout hitter Amber Clapp, Kennedy turned to Cross, who accepted the challenge with a match-high 12 kills.
“(Clapp) had a really good match against South Johnston, and I imagine (Corinth Holders) got a scouting report on that,” Kennedy said. “(The Pirates) did a good job shutting Clapp down, but we have a lot of hitters who are very consistent. That is one of the strengths of our team.”
Anika Thomas, Southwestern Randolph: Thomas offered a well-rounded performance with four kills, four aces and two blocks. She saved some of her best work for the most oppportune times, delivering the clinching kill in the second set and an ace to wrap up the third set.
Katelynn Leach, Corinth Holders: A senior middle hitter, Leach closed out her career by offering 10 kills, three blocks and two aces. Leach was one of five upperclassmen on the Pirates’ roster.
What worked
With her team struggling in the second set, Kennedy decided to utilize a soft push strategy from her hitters, trying to send the ball just over the Corinth Holders front line – and in front of the Pirates’ defense. While most clubs attempt to push to the deep corners, Southwestern went for the gap in the middle of Corinth Holders’ formation.
“We noticed that (the Pirates) had their defense back a little farther than what we are used to seeing,’’ Kennedy said. “So we started trying to work in some tips and placements. That allowed us to be able to swing more once Corinth Holders adjusted to that.’’
By the numbers
8: Southwestern’s balanced offense featured kills from eight different players, including seven in the opening set alone.
4: The Cougars boasted four players with at least five kills, led by Cross’ dozen blasts.
15-5: Southwestern collected 15 aces for the match, compared to five for the Pirates.
4-2: Corinth Holders’ home playoff record in the six-year history of the program.
41: Southwestern sent down 41 kills for the match.
3: Of the Cougars’ four losses, three of them have come against Randolph County rival Asheboro. Asheboro was the winner Tuesday over Gray’s Creek, and the clubs will meet for the fourth time on Thursday on the third round of the postseason.
This story was originally published October 27, 2015 at 10:13 PM with the headline "Corinth Holders volleyball stopped by Southwestern Randolph in second round."