Fruitland – North Henderson advanced furthest — to round four — as local volleyball squads’ seasons ended in playoffs last week.
North Henderson Lady Knights (25-4-1) reached round four on Saturday night. NHHS lost 3-0 at unbeaten West top seed North Iredell (31-0), a powerhouse program. NIHS plays tenth seed Fred T. Foard in the regional finals.
Still, this was a memorable season as NHHS reached round four for the first time in eight years. Head coach Sue (Dalton) Moon led the Lady Knights to what many hail as their first conference title ever. She first coached the Lady Knights when the school opened in 1993.
The Knights opened playoffs by shutting out Stuart W. Cramer, East Rowan then Forestview (FHS) Jaguars by 3-0 scores at home. NHHS kept beating the Jags by more decisive scores — first 25-21, next 25-16, then a 25-11 thumping to secure the 3-0 sweep.
Senior Lexie Gunter said that “in the third set, we really played together.” She said “we talked” more between points and went all out. “We sacrificed ourselves and our bodies for our team. We went all out to get yet another sweep.”
That triumph over FHS was on Thursday, a day when the other two surviving local squads lost. West Henderson Lady Falcons (24-7) lost 3-1 at Kings Mountain. West blanked South Point and North Lincoln at home in the first two rounds.
T.C. Roberson Lady Rams (23-6) in 4A beat Southwest Guilford 3-0 and East Forsyth 3-1, then lost 3-1 at Hough last Thursday. TCR won the MAC at 11-1. MAC schools A.C. Reynolds, Asheville and Erwin dropped playoff openers.
In 2A, Owen Warlassies beat Walkertown 3-0 but lost 3-0 at West Stanly.