Skyland – T.C. Roberson reached the state semifinals in 3A volleyball playoffs, while West Henderson knocked off the West Region’s number one seed as its postseason highlight. West (11-2) outlasted top seed Watauga (11-2) Jan. 14 in round two.
Coach Tiffany Lowrance’s Lady Falcons won by scores of 20-25, 25-22, 25-18, 22-25, then 15-13 to squeeze out a victory. West won twice on the road, shutting out Concord (25-10, 25-7, 25-8) in its playoff opener. Watauga eliminated North Henderson (10-4) in straight sets in round one, but the Lady Pioneers were out-clawed by the Lady Falcons.
Roberson, West and NHHS were the top three seeds from the Western Mountain Athletic Conference. The same team, fourth-seeded and
then-unbeaten Cox Mill (18-1), ousted the WMAC’s top two seeds. The Lady Chargers beat West (by 3-1) on Jan. 16 and then TCR (by 3-0) on Jan. 19 to win the West Region. D.H. Conley (16-1), the East’s number one seed, beat Cox Mills 3-0 to win the 3A state title this past Saturday, Jan. 23.
The further irony is that Cox Mill handed Roberson its only two defeats of the entire season and postseason, by winning in TCR’s regular-season finale and later eliminating TCR from playoffs.
Roberson (16-2) led by head coach Michelle Wagaman won three playoff rounds, to reach the state semifinals. The Lady Rams shut out Crest (25-10, 25-8, 25-7), South Iredell (25-23, 25-20, 25-22) then Marvin Ridge (25-17, 25-22, 25-17).
In 2A, both sixth-seeded Hendersonville and ninth seed Owen fell in the opening round. Owen (6-6) lost to Fred T. Foard, the eventual
state champion. HHS, 10-3 overall, was Mountain Six co-champion with Franklin at 8-2 and was the M6’s top seed in playoffs. East Henderson (7-6; 6-4 M6) was third but did not make the postseason.