Staff report

MOUNT ULLA —  “Not our best, but it was enough,” summed up West Rowan volleyball coach Jan Dowling. “Barely enough.”

Top-seeded West won the South Piedmont Conference Tournament on Wednesday night, surviving a determined challenge from second-seeded East Rowan .

Scores were 25-19, 26-24 and 25-23. It was tight. Too tight for Dowling’s liking.

“I thought East played super,” Dowling said. “Give them credit. They were scrappy, super-scrappy. They really got after it.”

Leah Hinceman got her 1,000th career kill early. That was a highlight for the Mustangs, who are coached by Sandy Lytton.

East (19-5) has the best team it’s had in years. Three of the Mustangs’ losses were to West, so the Falcons are pretty special even on their bad days. West also won seven times against good SPC squads from Carson, South Rowan and Lake Norman Charter. It was a five-deep league.

Dowling is a perfectionist. She’s not going to be totally happy until the Falcons play a perfect match.

But they’re solid. Lots of hitters who can hurt you and setter Ashlee Ennis spreads the ball around.

They have moved up to the No. 2 spot in the 3A West RPI rankings. Undefeated North Iredell is the only team ranked ahead of West. Two of West’s losses were to North Iredell.

“We’ve seen North Iredell up close and personal twice,” Dowling said. “They’re really big and really good.”

Emma Clarke continued her late-season surge for the Falcons. She had 15 kills, nine digs, four blocks and three aces in a well-rounded effort.

Dowling explained that she eased Clarke into things this season because Clarke’s focus needed to be on making her softball college decision. After Clarke, one of the nation’s highest-rated softball players in the Class of 2024, committed to Tennessee, and had that pressure lifted off her shoulders, Dowling started asking more of her on the volleyball court.

“Emma was only playing three rotations most of the season, but now we’ve also got her in there digging,” Dowling said. “She’s a difference-maker. She’s been really been coming on the last few weeks.”

Madelyn VonCanon and Anna Grace Blackledge have taken advantage of go-to roles this season. They’ve been consistent. VonCanon had 10 kills and 12 digs in the championship game, while Blackledge contributed four kills, three blocks and nine digs.

Ennis racked up the assists and had 15 digs. Brooke Kennerly and Ava Gusler combined for another 15 digs.

“I don’t want to be negative because we just won a championship, but we were a little off,” Dowling said. “We had more hitting errors and more serving errors than we should be having at this point in the season. But we were scrappy on defense. I thought we won tonight with our defense.”

Asked if this 21-3 team has surprised her, Dowling responded, “Yes and no.”

“They work hard, they like each other and they don’t like to lose, and those are all good things,” Dowling said. “And Ashlee (Ennis) has kind of brought it all together for us. She’s totally unselfish and she’s been a great first-time setter as a senior.”

Playoff pairings will be released today. West is the No. 2 seed in the 32-team bracket. That could mean four home games if the Falcons can keep winning.

West will host High Point Central at 11 a.m.

The playoffs start Saturday.

East has two senior college commits in Hinceman (Lenoir-Rhyne) and Riley Hill (Catawba) and a third senior, Anasty Faavesi, who is getting offers.

East is ranked 10th in 3A West RPI, but will be seeded behind all the conference champs and the top 3A teams from the 2A/3A and 3A/4A split conferences as well as a couple of highly ranked conference runners-up.

East is seeded 13th and will host Ledford on Saturday at Noon. It’s a Volley for Warmth match. Fans are asked to donate new or gently used blankets and pillows for Rowan Helping Ministries.

See photo gallery from the match here https://www.salisburypost.com/2022/10/19/photo-gallery-wests-volleyball-team-wins-spc-championship/