Panther Creek volleyball ousted by New Bern in close third-round match

It was a year of “firsts” for Panther Creek volleyball. The Catamounts earned their first Southwest Wake Athletic Conference title and first playoff win. Their historic run came to an end in the third round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association playoffs, falling 3-1 to visiting New Bern 3-1 (24-26, 25-20, 26-24, 25-21).

After finishing near the bottom of the SWAC standings a year earlier, Panther Creek coach Holly Fong credits leadership as being the focal point of the turnaround.

“The senior leadership was phenomenal this season,” Fong said. “They not only set the tone for this season, but seasons to come.”

Despite being the final match for Wake Forest recruit Caitlyn Della, who finished with 15 kills and three blocks, the squad still looked at a lot of underclassmen for contributions.

“We had two sophomores and a freshman playing most of the (game), I don’t really know anyone else in the league that plays that many underclassmen all the time,” Fong said. “We obviously have a group of great seniors that we’re losing, but I have full faith that our junior class will step up and have an amazing season.”

Emily Maggio will be one of the players that Fong looks to be a senior leader next year after finishing with 13 kills Thursday evening.

After Panther Creek surged ahead to take game one 26-24, New Bern made a statement in the following set, defeating the Catamounts 25-20.

“We started off a little tight,” New Bern coach Heidi Griffee said. “I told them to be loose, we play better when we’re loose … and we chose to be great instead of average.”

The Catamounts didn’t ease up, after all, they had come back from a 2-0 deficit in their second round victory over Green Hope earlier in the week. Like the first set, the third also went to 26 points, but this time the Bears pulled away thanks to three kills down the final stretch from Avery Davis.

Davis led the way for the Bears all night, amassing 19 kills and three blocks. Faith Handford was a worthy offensive sidekick, tacking on 13 more kills.

Needing only one more set to earn a trip to the fourth round, New Bern stepped up when it meant the most, leading for the entirety of set four en route to a 25-21 win.

This story was originally published October 29, 2015 at 9:19 PM with the headline "Panther Creek volleyball ousted by New Bern in close third-round match."